Incontinence Brief Change

Key Points

• Use glove changes and hand hygiene between soiled removal, perineal care, and clean brief placement.
• Keep resident safe during turning with side-rail support when needed.
• Center and secure brief without excessive tightness.

Equipment

• Gloves
• Clean brief

Procedure Steps

1. Complete routine pre-procedure actions and don gloves.
2. If in bed, raise one side rail and turn or assist hips up to remove soiled brief.
3. Remove gloves and perform hand hygiene.
4. Don clean gloves and perform perineal care.
5. Remove gloves and perform hand hygiene.
6. Don clean gloves and place centered clean brief under buttocks; tuck tabs under resident.
7. Assist resident onto back.
8. Bring brief front up and secure tabs.
9. Remove gloves and complete post-procedure safety checks, including comfort, call light access, and documentation/reporting of output and skin changes.

Common Errors

• Skipping glove change between contaminated and clean steps → increases cross-contamination risk.
• Improper brief centering → causes leakage and skin irritation.
• Inadequate perineal cleansing before new brief → increases dermatitis and infection risk.

Related

• perineal-care-female - Detailed female perineal cleansing sequence used during brief care.
• perineal-care-male - Detailed male perineal cleansing sequence used during brief care.