Smarter continence care frees up time and improves quality

📸Essity

In a daily reality marked by increasing care needs and tighter resources, municipal health and care services are searching for solutions that work. A project at a nursing home in the City of Oslo points in a promising direction: by implementing digital assessment tools, they have succeeded in improving continence care – while also freeing up valuable time for other tasks.

A key contributor to the project is Essity, a supplier of continence care products and one of the sponsors of this year’s Healthtech Festival in collaboration with

From routine to individualised care

Continence care represents a significant part of daily work in nursing homes, yet it is an area that is rarely highlighted – and often underestimated. For many staff members, daily routines have involved managing leakage, frequent changes and resource-intensive care in an already pressured environment.

When the nursing home introduced digital night supervision, the need arose to ensure care quality while using resources more efficiently. The solution was the digital assessment tool TENA Identifi, which provides insights into each resident’s voiding patterns over 72 hours – offering a much stronger foundation for personalised care.

The assessment revealed that much of the resource use was driven by fixed routines rather than individual needs. Incorrect product selection and application led to unnecessary leakage, increased workload and reduced quality of life for residents. Based on insights from residents’ voiding patterns in the TENA Identifi reports, care was gradually adjusted: more appropriate timing for changes and toilet visits, and products selected based on each individual’s needs.

Residents report an increased sense of dignity in their daily lives following the implementation of TENA Identifi. 📸Essity

Benefits that make a difference

The results of the project are well documented, and the benefits extend far beyond financial outcomes. Residents experience less disturbed sleep, fewer leakages and an increased sense of dignity in their daily lives. For staff, the shift means fewer physically demanding care tasks, improved workflows and reduced physical strain. Resources are also used more effectively: unnecessary changes are reduced, the consumption of products and laundry decreases, and the time freed up can be allocated where it is needed most.

At the same time, the project highlights an important lesson: technology alone is not enough. Benefits are only realised when solutions are supported by strong anchoring, clear leadership and competence development among staff.

A question for the entire sector

The experience from the nursing home in Oslo illustrates a challenge faced across the healthcare sector: how can we work smarter – not necessarily harder – to meet increasing care demands? The project demonstrates significant potential, both in shifting from routine-based to data-driven practices and in making currently invisible costs more visible.

Would you like to learn more about how this works in practice? Essity will share its experiences at the Healthtech Festival in the session “Service innovation and new ways of working.”

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