The effects of a continence program on frail community-dwelling elderly persons.

Urinary incontinence among community-dwelling frail elderly is estimated to affect 6.23 million people at an annual cost of over $7 billion. Overwhelmed caregivers may seek institutional placement of their incontinent family member. Results from this study of 78 subjects demonstrate that even in physically and cognitively impaired persons a behavioral treatment program can reduce incontinence, lower costs, and relieve caregiver burden.