“Prioritise patient dignity and quality of life over short-term cost savings.”
That’s the advice of one residential aged care professional in Australia, given in a survey about continence care. It sounds like a plea. For aged care leaders, it’s also a procurement brief.
Think you know continence care? Look again.
That’s the title of a new research report commissioned by TENA and run by research firm Augur. Between February and March 2026, it questioned 164 frontline healthcare professionals across Australia, Canada, Italy and the UK, and interviewed four independent experts.
Even though the results are self-reported perceptions, not audited outcomes, the direction is hard to miss: 95% want continence care made a higher priority, and 82% say they’ve already raised concerns about current practices.
Staff feel it first
Let’s start with the people doing the work. Nearly eight in ten (79%) say continence care challenges add to their workload pressure, citing lack of time, staff shortages and high overall workload. While almost three quarters (74%) say those challenges harm staff and resident wellbeing. One in three cite emotional strain, and 26% report physical strain or risk of injury.
“Frontline staff are committed to supporting residents, and because of a lack of resources or training or the wrong products, they may be experiencing increased stress and burnout,” says Linda Sheiban Taucar, Director of the Centre for Health Care Research & Innovation at Conestoga College.
A residential aged care professional in Canada is blunter: “Poor quality products increase workloads unnecessarily every day.”
Even residents feel it too, with nearly half of respondents (45%) saying that current practices directly affect quality of care. A nursing home professional in Italy links it to dignity: “Product quality directly impacts the dignity and comfort of those we care for.”
One size rarely fits
More than one in three (38%) say limited access to appropriate products is a major challenge, and 26% point directly to budget constraints affecting quality or choice. They describe working within narrow options that don’t always match individual needs.
“Increasing access to higher-quality, better fitting products would enhance comfort and reduce overall waste,” says a residential aged care professional in Australia.
Almost all agree on the efficiency point: 96% say access to the right type of continence products would let them deliver care more efficiently.
What the invoice doesn’t show
Here is where the governance question arrives. The research argues that procurement teams are making rational choices with incomplete information. The knock-on effects of a cheaper product – such as more frequent changes, more laundry and more skin complications – rarely appear on the invoice.
Some 92% of interviewees say bulk purchasing lower-quality products can be more expensive in the long run. And 49% say current practices already generate unnecessary costs, while 72% see unnecessary waste linked to continence care.
“It’s about looking at the bigger picture and the wider cost. It’s skin breakdown, it’s hospital admissions, it’s prescriptions,” says Tracy Whitehouse, Nurse Specialist at Bladder & Bowel UK.
Veronique Boscart, Chief Scientific Officer at William Osler Health System, says leaders need to change course. “Decision-makers have to do things differently. They’re stuck by the limitations of their perceptions.”
Where do we go from here?
The report calls for person-centred care as the standard, a “use better, use less” approach to products, and training as a priority. In practice, that means assessing each resident and tailoring toileting times and products to them, rather than running one routine for everyone.
“Every individual deserves care tailored to their specific needs,” says Taucar. “We want to build up patients’ quality of life, their wellbeing, their dignity.”
Training is the other lever. Some 94% of respondents say better training would let them deliver more effective care.
The suggested first step? An internal audit, starting with these questions:
- How much time do staff spend on continence care?
- What are the outcomes? What are the secondary costs, such as skin complications, infections and hospital admissions?
- Are procurement decisions aligned with care needs?
Communication matters too. “Improving communication between clinical and procurement teams would align product selection with actual patient requirements,” says a residential aged care professional in Australia.
Boscart frames the stakes: “Our healthcare system is prioritising immediate efficiency over long-term outcomes, and that jeopardises the humanity in care relationships.”
And this, unfortunately, may be the greatest cost of all.
Receive the 2026 frontline healthcare professionals research report by filling out this form.
TENA is a brand of Essity, a leading global hygiene and health company. With over 65 years of experience TENA is the No 1 adult incontinence brand globally*. They offer a full range of absorbent products, skincare and digital health technology solutions that are tailored to the needs of individuals, their families and healthcare professionals.
With TENA, Essity is at the forefront of developing products and services that help improve dignity and the quality of people’s lives. Their products reduce their carbon footprint, step by step, so they’re not just protecting people, but the planet too.
*Euromonitor International Limited; Retail Adult Incontinence, all channels, RSP value sales, Tissue & Hygiene, 2020 edition.
