New Zealand News
Continence NZ Conference 2023
Continence NZ is pleased to be hosting a two day conference in Auckland on 14th – 15th September 2023. The conference will cover a range of topics for both adults and children. Further details and information on speakers, content and registration will be shared soon. We look forward to seeing you there!
Pelvic floor focus workshops
Continence NZ, in conjunction with Exercise NZ and REPs, is hosting pelvic floor focus workshops across the North Island in the first quarter of 2023. The workshops help exercise professionals gain a better understanding of basic anatomy and the function of the pelvic floor and core, recognise dysfunction of the pelvic floor and core, and reduce the risk of pelvic floor injury when developing an exercise programme. More details on how to register are available at https://www.continence.org.nz/p/Pelvic-Floor-Focus-Workshop-2023/2348/?fbclid=IwAR0phwX2VUpqRaKTncB5fyEgTnlCAvANyvj33xjSOGd4B_4DAzYJwuSr70g
Community and online education
Our nurses Lisa Smith and Louise Mills are offering free webinars and education sessions to both health professionals and our wider community on a range of topics, including bowel and bladder health, toilet training, constipation, bedwetting, daytime wetting, stool withholding, supporting continence in aged care settings, pelvic health across the lifespan, catheter management and more. Please contact info@continence.org.nz for a list of upcoming webinars or to discuss your specific requirements.
With support from the IHC Foundation, Continence NZ has recently developed two new online training modules – Key Continence Training for Schools and Key Continence Training for Disability Support Services. These are free and may be accessed anytime at https://www.continence.org.nz/pages/Free-Online-Training/295/
Research update
Continence NZ is progressing with a significant piece of research funded by the New Zealand Lottery Grants Board. The purpose of this project is to make recommendations as to how Continence NZ can most effectively serve those living with incontinence in New Zealand. Focus groups have been running through December and January and will continue in February, discussing the experiences of our community living with incontinence, the barriers to accessing care, and what support is needed for those living with incontinence. The research is expected to be completed in March.
Team update
Late last year we farewelled Lucy Keedle from our Executive Committee. We would like to thank Lucy for an exceptional ten years of service on our Executive. We also have the pleasure of welcoming two new Executive Committee members, Jacinta Townsend and Helen Peek.
Jacinta Townsend is a nurse practitioner with over 25 years of experience in urology. She qualified as a nurse practitioner in 2015 with Distinction. Her training includes male and female voiding dysfunction, bladder cancer diagnosis and surveillance, and prostate cancer assessment and surveillance, in addition to other common benign urological conditions. Jacinta runs independent flexible cystoscopy and urodynamics clinics. She established her own consulting company four years ago and now works across both the public and private sectors. Her passion is providing evidence-based nursing practice and she has published several research articles.
Helen Peek is a continence nurse specialist at Southland DHB. She completed her nursing training at Timaru Hospital New Zealand before moving south. All of her nursing career has been in Invercargill, so she very proudly calls herself a Southlander. Helen worked in paediatrics and aged care before becoming a continence nurse specialist, a role she truly enjoys. She completed her Master’s degree with a dissertation exploring women’s perceptions and understanding of the pelvic floor.
Helen now works alongside other health professionals creating education packages for primary healthcare providers, focusing on recognising and managing those affected by surgical mesh, and preventing and managing urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse.
Laura Fear
CEO, Continence NZ
Author(s)
Laura Fear
CEO, Continence NZ
