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Introduction:
Bathing serves body hygiene and skin integrity, which in turn is vital to the prevention of disease. Hygiene
is important to maintain health. Bathing assistance is a major task in nursing and the quality and
efficiency of bathing can have a large impact on health and health care costs. Traditional bed baths have
been the standard in bathing of bedridden patients for a long time.
For bedridden patients, a bed bath is the only bathing option. Traditionally, the bed bath is performed with
water and soap. One of the problem of the bedridden patients was having body odors and risk for
infection. Poor hygiene may increase the risk for infection of these patients and having a bath is one of
the things that can help in decreasing the chance of acquiring infections. Some patients cannot safely leave
their beds to bathe. For these people, daily bed baths can help keep their skin healthy, control odor, and
increase comfort.
It is said that bed bath increases work load of nurses. However, alternatives are increasingly used in
health care. Washing without water is one such alternative that has been claimed to offer several
advantages, such as improved hygiene and skin condition. A new method of bed bath had been
discovered which is known as the “disposable bed bath.”
To compare the effectiveness of traditional bed bath and disposable bed bath in providing care to the
patient
To determine the advantages and disadvantages of using disposable bed bath to the patients and
healthcare providers
To know how this new bed bath method is being done and used
Evidences:
Lisette
Schoonhoven1,'Correspondence
information about the author Lisette
SchoonhovenEmail the author
Lisette Schoonhoven, Betsie G.I. van
Gaal1, Steven Teerenstra, Eddy
Adang, Carine van der Vleuten, Theo
van Achterberg
275 Nurses To know which of the two Nurses gave an average grade
bed bath method is more of 7.5 (out of 10) for washing
preferred by the nurses without water with a standard
deviation of 1.2. 61% Of the
nurses would replace water and
soap bed baths with washing
without water.
Elderly patients' and nurses' To compare the traditional Significantly less time was used
assessment of traditional bed bath basin bed bath to a disposable with the disposable baths (p <
compared to prepacked single bed bath, there are four factors 0.001). There were 46 cases
units – randomised controlled trial that need to be considered: (1) during the trial where nurses
duration and quality of the preferred the disposable bath
Lis Horstmann Nøddeskou Master in
bath, (2) cost, (3) nurse method. The washbasin method
Clinical Nursing, Lars E.
satisfaction and (4) patient was preferred in six cases. And
Hemmingsen Master of Science
satisfaction there was one case where the
Pharmacology,
nurse was equally satisfied with
Britta Hørdam PhD, MScN, RN
both types of baths. The nurses
6 September 2014
rated the disposable bath
significantly higher than the
basin method. In most cases,
Fifty-eight patients received bed
patients and nurses preferred
baths on two consecutive days – a
the same type of bath (70%). In
traditional bed bath on 1 day and a
terms of total expenditure, the
disposable bed bath on the other.
disposable bath cost 11.84 DKK
The patients were bathed by the
and the basin method cost
same nurse on both days. The baths
11.87 DKK, resulting in an
were observed in relation to duration,
insignificant difference (p >
use of supplies and quality. Nurses
0.05).
and patients were interviewed about
their preferences.
Synthesis:
Strength:
Evidence #1:
Evidence #2:
The use of disposable wash gloves does not increase the risk for dry skin in comparison with traditional
washing methods. They used a measuring device to assess the skin.
Evidence #3:
Introduction of washing without water is likely to lead to more bathing completeness in nursing homes.
Evidence #4:
There are parameters used to assess the efficacy of disposable bed bath.
Evidence #5:
There are parameters used to assess the efficacy of disposable bed bath.
Weaknesses:
Evidence #1:
Only two studies (of the same research group) were considered of high quality.
Evidence #2:
Evidence #3:
Evidence #4:
The costs related to the nursing time needed to clean up after a bed bath was excluded from the
calculation.
Evidence #5:
There is no significant difference when it comes to the cost of the two bed bath method.
1. Disposable bed bath is known to be more effective and better than the traditional bed bath. According
to research, it helps the nurses to fulfill their duty in providing bed bath to their patients without increasing
the nurses workload.
2. Bed-bath can be a pleasant or stressful experience; for some patients, a bath is a source of pleasure,
while for others, it may be understood as an aggressive behavior that causes distress or fear. Many
patients experience fear, anxiety, and frustration related to the techniques used in bed-bath, which are
selected according to nurses’ judgment not to patient needs and preferences. Nurses should not try to
force their own standards of hygiene. The washcloth is disposable so it will decrease the workload of the
nurse in disposing it after being used. On the positive side, disposable wash products are –most often –
made of a mix of soft fibers and contain ingredients such as skin friendly cleaning and caring lotions that
could optimize hygiene and skin integrity. Bed baths with disposable wash gloves supposedly cost less
than traditional bed baths, increase patient satisfaction and improve professional ergonomic aspects.
Washing without water and traditional bed bathing have similar effects on significant skin lesions, yet
washing without water mildly protects from any skin abnormality/lesion. As costs for preparing and
performing bed baths were more or less similar for both bed baths we conclude that washing without
water is favored to traditional bed bathing and generally the more efficient alternative.
Conclusion:
We therefore conclude that the disposable bath is a desirable form of bathing for patients who are unable
to bathe themselves in critical care and long-term care settings, and it may even be preferable to the
traditional basin bath.
Recommendation:
References:
https://bmcgeriatr.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12877-017-0425-4
http://www.gnjournal.com/article/S0197-4572(15)00421-8/fulltext
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/opn.12104/abstract
http://www.journalofnursingstudies.com/article/S0020-7489(14)00204-1/fulltext
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/scs.12170/abstract