On 9th October 2018, the ERIC Charity hosted its annual conference in Birmingham with the theme ‘Broadening Horizons: Challenging our Continence Comfort Zone’. The conference had an ambitious agenda, aiming to showcase new research, highlighting the impact of continence problems on the everyday lives of children and teenagers, discussing innovative and practical management approaches, presenting resources to support the delivery of continence care, and providing opportunities to learn about the stages of the continence journey.
ERIC is the only charity dedicated to the bowel and bladder health of children and young people. They offer a number of services to establish good bowel and bladder health, including:
- A helpline.
- A website with information and downloadable resources.
- An online shop.
- Campaigns that raise awareness.
- Paediatric continence training courses for health professionals.
Clinical team members of the Children & Young People’s Health Partnership (CYPHP) submitted an abstract to the ERIC’s Professional Advisory Committee. The team was excited to hear that their abstract was not only approved by the committee, but that they were also invited to present their work at the conference. For the team, it was a great opportunity as it provided the perfect platform to showcase our programme’s research, inspire other practitioners and members of the public, and to find inspiration or different perspectives from others. All of which, contributing to further improve the outcomes for local children and young people with constipation in Lambeth and Southwark.
The article presented by Fiona Meagher, Primary Care Clinical Nurse Specialist, was titled ‘Discovering Complexity and Unmet Need in Children and Young People with Constipation.’ It aimed to outline baseline data on the physical, mental, and social wellbeing of children and young people with constipation who have completed the CYPHP Health Check. It was discussed that from the initial findings, it can be suggested that there was a higher than expected level of psychosocial need in children and young people with constipation. It was also important to share that initial findings showed that current health services are inadequately prepared to manage these concerns in constipation.
Though these findings paint a bleak picture, it is reassuring to note that the CYPHP model of care provides an example of proactive, case finding for children and young people with constipation that means they get early intervention and holistic care. CYPHP offers preventative healthcare to all children and young people with constipation by providing education and health promotion to low-risk patients, and for those patients who need a bit more support, CYPHP’s multi-disciplinary health team provides care that is tailored to each child’s needs.
When asked to summarise the day, Fiona said it was “an amazing conference.” Elaborating further to explain that it was a “Fabulous day. Packed with intensive, research-based practice, all championing continence for children and young people.”
Click here to find out more about the CYPHP clinical team.
To see more of the latest news from CYPHP, please click here.