Elderly patients' and nurses' assessment of traditional bed bath compared to prepacked single
units - randomised controlled trial
Sammanfattning
Background: There are two types of bed baths: the traditional
basin used with soap and water, and the disposable
bath, which is prepacked in single-use units and heated
before use.
Objective: To compare the traditional basin bed bath to a
disposable bed bath, there are four factors that need to
be considered: (1) duration and quality of the bath, (2)
cost, (3) nurse satisfaction and (4) patient satisfaction.
Methods: Fifty-eight patients received bed baths on two
consecutive days - a traditional bed bath on 1 day and a
disposable bed bath on the other. The patients were
bathed by the same nurse on both days. The baths were
observed in relation to duration, use of supplies and
quality. Nurses and patients were interviewed about their
preferences.
Results: Both types of baths scored very highly in the area
of quality. There was no difference in the cost of supplies.
Significantly less time was used with the disposable
baths (p < 0.001).In terms of total expenditure, the disposable
bath cost 11.84 DKK and the basin method cost
11.87 DKK, resulting in an insignificant difference
(p > 0.05). Taking the nurses salaries into account, it was
much cheaper to bathe patients using the disposable
bath. Most patients preferred the disposable bath, while
others preferred the basin method or were equally satisfied
with both types of baths. There was no significant
difference in these results (p > 0.22). There were 46 cases
during the trial where nurses preferred the disposable
bath method. The washbasin method was preferred in six
cases. And there was one case where the nurse was
equally satisfied with both types of baths. The nurses
rated the disposable bath significantly higher than the
basin method. In most cases, patients and nurses preferred
the same type of bath (70%).
Conclusion: This study presents a comparison of the new
method of bed bathing to the traditional basin method,
in relation to cost, duration, quality and nurse and
patient preference. In the case of disposable baths, the
costs are lower as significantly less time is used. The
nurses were very clear in their preference for disposable
baths, and this was also the case for the majority of
patients. There was consistency between the nurses and
the patients in terms of their preference of bath type.
When patients need assistance with personal hygiene,
the nurse should inform the patient about the two methods
and involve the patient in the decision. Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons.