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ERIC partners with University of Kent for continence research
Schools across the UK will soon have access to a range of assets on bowel and bladder health and the history of incontinence, thanks to a new research project we’re participating in with Dr Claire Jones and her team at University of Kent.
Buzzers for Bedwetters: A New Research Project on Incontinence and the Urinary Body in Britain, 1870-1970 is a research project led by Dr Jones which examines the ways in which the incontinent body and urine ‘as matter out of place’ was transformed into a significant moral problem in Britain during this period.
Historians have uncovered that the shame and stigma associated with bowel and bladder movements is a relatively modern phenomenon.
ERIC has been contributing to the research in an advisory capacity for the past year and we are now helping to formulate a series of assets aimed at young people aged 11 – 14, which we’ll be sharing with schools across the country later in the year, to be used as part of PHSE lessons on bowel and bladder health.
The assets will comprise a lesson plan, handouts, and three short videos that teachers can show in class, busting some of the common myths that have arisen around bowel and bladder problems and explaining where they originated from.
It is hoped that the materials will further young people’s understanding of bowel and bladder health and help reduce the stigma around these conditions, explaining that they can affect anyone of any age.
Dr Claire Jones, Senior Lecturer in the History of Medicine at University of Kent, said: “We’re grateful to ERIC for your expert knowledge and support throughout this project. For us, this partnership is about bringing the historical knowledge of incontinence to the fore, sharing that with young people, and linking it to modern day lived experience”.
Siân Wicks, CEO of ERIC said: “Here at ERIC our mission is to get everyone talking about good bladder and bowel health, and collaborations like these are extremely important for helping to spread the word and deepen the public understanding of these issues. We’d like to thank University of Kent for the opportunity and we look forward to being able to share all this knowledge with schools across the nation later this year”.
The resulting materials will be published on our website later this year.
