Developing and Efficiency Evaluation of a Positioning Assist Device for Urinary Catheterization in Female Patients

Urinary elimination is one of the most fundamental physiological needs, and when it cannot be met by the individual for any reason, urinary catheterisation is required to drain urine accumulated in the bladder. Urinary catheterisation consists of a series of sequential steps. The first step is positioning the patient. In female patients, the dorsal recumbent position is required to visualise the urethral meatus. Once an appropriate position has been achieved in female patients, direct visualisation of the urethral meatus is crucial for the successful advancement of the catheter under sterile conditions. Providing and maintaining an appropriate position is particularly difficult in unconscious or uncooperative female patients, and may require multiple personnel. Although it is clear that positioning female patients during catheterisation and maintaining this position throughout the procedure is important and difficult, no devices have been found to assist with positioning. Therefore, this project aims to develop an assistive device to provide female patients with a comfortable and safe position during urinary catheterisation and to maintain this position throughout the procedure, and to evaluate the effectiveness of this device. To this end, a new positioning cushion will be developed, and a preclinical validation study will be conducted using a mixed-methods research design that includes a randomised controlled trial and a descriptive qualitative study.