Caffeine Intake and Urinary Tract Infections among Older Adults

Ellen Abbott, Gardner-Webb University

Abstract

A retrospective study was done in a long-term care facility based on secondary analysis from existing charts (n=40) to identify the population's beverage intake and presence of a facility-acquired urinary tract infection. The study described the amount of caffeinated beverages intake and occurrence of facility acquired urinary tract infections in a 144-bed skilled nursing facility that offers long-term care. The study was guided by the conceptual framework of the Health Promotion Model (HPM), developed by Nola. J. Pender (Tomey & Alligood, 2013). The research study compared the rates of urinary tract infections in the selected population based on the frequency of caffeinated beverages consumed on an average daily basis. A retrospective chart review was conducted including an analysis of the daily frequency of caffeinated beverage intake and the occurrence of a facility-acquired urinary tract infection during the past three months. A week's worth of data was used to determine each participant's average daily caffeinated drink consumption. Descriptive statistics and an independent sample test were used to generate the answer to the research question. The statistical results yielded that there is no significant difference between the amount of caffeinated beverage intake among the residents with UTI and those without UTI. The amount of caffeinated beverages intake appears to be a non-significant of UTI in this facility. Caffeine in its relation to urinary tract infections has not been studied much at this point in time. Because of the lack of research on this subject, it would be beneficial for future research to be done concerning this issue. Further research concerning prevention of urinary tract infections in the long-term care resident population, in general, would also be beneficial due to the rising costs of health care and quality of life for the resident.