Part of the team, part of society – Managing incontinence issues worldwide

TENA Global Brand Director, Andy Mack, discusses an issue that is much more common than most people think and how it impacts people in their everyday life, with a particular focus on sports. He describes the work himself and Essity are doing around the world, and how innovations that seem relatively small can have a big impact enabling people to be part of the team and part of society.

 

“Incontinence discourages you in every part of your everyday life since it is always on your mind. It can be everything from leaking in the bed to considering what to eat or drink, what to wear to not show that you are wearing protection, or avoiding spontaneous invites because you don’t know if there’s a toilet. These sound like small issues but together they become big inhibitions to everyday life,” says Mack.

 

We strive to empower people with incontinence to live without disruptions, but also to emphasize that they are not alone. To raise awareness about incontinence, we help inspire the people affected to undertake training through courses and apps where they can, for example, follow a training program that strengthens their pelvic floor muscles. The aim is to educate, as well as guide people with incontinence through the training in order to eventually and when they’re ready, live a fuller life. 

 

From a sports perspective, incontinence is also a major issue for athletes. 

 

“It hinders athletes a lot and can even make them quit their sports, so this is a huge problem. Leakage is more common when you are active; you often have smaller leakages that are more sudden and unexpected,” says Mack.

Athletes often wear tight clothes and it is important that what they wear fits perfectly. This can both make an incontinence pad more visible, and mean that it gets in the way. According to a survey by TENA, almost every tenth person suffering from urinary leakage indicates that it’s an obstacle for them to exercise. 

 

We are constantly looking for new ways to improve people’s everyday lives. That’s why we work hard to gather insights and truly understand the needs of those affected by incontinence. Then, we can continue to create innovative solutions and help reduce the strenuous impact that incontinence has on their everyday lives. An example of an innovation that may seem small but is having a big effect, is our new TENA Men Active Fit pants that are specially made to look and fit like underwear for men and, also includes all the features of protective underwear.

 

Another truly innovative piece of technology included in the product list is TENA Identifi – a new level of knowledge for improved individualized care. To understand the individual needs of each care resident, an accurate continence assessment is crucial. TENA Identifi’s reports provide evidence based insights in to each resident’s individual needs for toileting, changing and absorbent products. This helps care staff create individualized care plans that promote continence, enhance dignity and improved quality of life.

 

We continue to make breakthroughs with innovative products and effective guidance and training. We acknowledge that many people will have to deal with incontinence, but we endeavor to ensure that those affected feel secure and gain the confidence to live life to its absolute fullest. We aspire to make more people continent and understand that in order to exceed expectations, we must use the right strategies, observations and research based facts to fulfill these goals and ambitions.