Australians’ incontinence
December 14, 2012
315,000 Australians are currently
living with incontinence, according
to the Australian Institute of Health
and Welfare (AIHW).
The figure comes from the AIHW’s
Incontinence in Australia: prevalence,
experience and cost report which
analysed data from 2009.
According to the report two thirds
of people experiencing
incontinence are female (66%),
whilst about 144,000 people always
needed help or supervision with
their bladder or bowel control.
“Incontinence affects people's
ability to take part in education,
employment and social situations,”
said AIHW spokesperson Brent Diverty.
“In 2009, only one in five people
aged 15-64 who always or
sometimes needed assistance with
bladder or bowel control were
working or looking for work.
“This was substantially lower than
for those who had difficulty with
bladder or bowel control but
needed no assistance (42%) and
those who had no difficulty at all
(57%),” he added.
In terms of carers, the report
found that in 2009 there were
72,900 primary carers in 2009 who
helped with another person's
incontinence, along with other
needs for support and assistance.
“Three quarters of these carers (73%)
spent 40 or more hours a week
actively caring or supervising, and
the toll on their wellbeing was more
than for carers whose support and
assistance did not include help with
incontinence,” the report said.
Analysing this extra toll,
researchers found that 50% of
primary carers helping with
managing bladder or bowel control
said they had a change in their
physical or emotional wellbeing,
whilst around 45% reported
weariness and lacking energy, and
40% reported worry or depression.
These figures compare with less
than a third for each of these
factors, for carers whose support
and assistance did not include help
with managing incontinence.
Meanwhile, the report also found
that in 2008-09, health care
spending for incontinence was
about $202 million, and that the
largest share ($146 million, or 72%)
of this spend went for admitted
patient hospital services, whilst the
continence Aids Assistant Scheme
and out-of-hospital medical services
cost $32m and $18m respectively.
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