ABSTRACT
I. INTRODUCTION The aim of this paper is primarily to provide a framework for investigators conducting research on incontinence in frail older people. Because it is difficult to precisely define frailty, the definition used in this paper is “any person over age 65 years with incontinence of urine who does not leave their place of residence without assistance of others, or a person with dementia, or a person who has been admitted to a long-term care facility.” These people usually suffer from multiple medical conditions and disabilities (comorbidity), which result in them becoming homebound or institutionalized. Because they require the assistance of others to perform some or all of the most basic activities of daily living (ADLs), including bathing, dressing, toileting, and ambulating, results from younger populations or from older people without disabilities cannot necessarily be extrapolated to this population. For this population there is little validated research showing long-term efficacy of treatment for urinary incontinence.
