9. PATIENT EDUCATION
A study by Macaulay (2015) showed that only one patient out of 34 had been instructed in how to use a MEC. [18]
This checklist is intended to assist healthcare professionals to check whether all the information that patients/relatives need to know about MEC has been provided.
Table 5. Checklist for patient education
Patients need to know
- Why MEC is necessary and is the best choice
- Basic anatomical knowledge about the urogenital tract
- How to check the expiry date of the material before use
- How to prepare the MEC for use
- How to perform the MEC procedure
- name, size and material of the MEC
- Which difficulties may occur during or after the MEC is applied
- Observational aspects during application of a MEC
- how to observe the penile skin
- urine drainage tube is not kinked
- Changing intervals for the MEC
- How to avoid UTI
- How to recognise symptoms or the common signs of UTI
- burning on urination
- frequency and/or urgency
- pain
- offensive smelling urine
- cloudy/dark urine
- feeling tired or shaky
- fever or chills
- haematuria [56-58]
- How and when to remove the MEC
- Availability of appropriate urinary drainage
- When to contact the healthcare professional, in case of:
- pain
- skin problems
- problems applying the MEC
- MEC falls off
- incontinence episodes or leakage
- symptoms of UTI