Washing Without Water: Cost-effectiveness of a Rapidly Spreading Nursing Intervention in Bedridden Patients' (WWW)

Betsie van Gaal

Status: Completed

Conditions: Skin Disease

Treatments: Device: Washing without water

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT01187732

80-82310-97-1074

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purpose of this study is to compare the traditional bed bath with 'washing without water' on

• 1. effects on skin integrity
• 2. patient and nurse satisfaction and 3) costs. In a cluster randomized trial we will randomize 50 nursing home wards (576 patients) to 'washing without water' or traditional bed baths. Bathing regimens are continued for six weeks.

Whereas effects on skin damage are not likely to be specific for setting, these results can be generalized to other patient groups.

Full description

RAPID IMPLEMENTATION of new interventions while cost-effectiveness and acceptability for patients and care providers are unclear, is never desirable. 'Washing without water' is such an intervention.

The traditional bed bath is executed by using tap water, towels, washcloths and soap. As an alternative, 'WASHING WITHOUT WATER' was recently introduced in the Netherlands. This concept consists of disposable washcloths made of a mix of soft synthetic fibers, saturated with a no rinse, quickly vaporizing skin cleaning and caring lotion. 'WASHING WITHOUT WATER' can be used with all patients who need bathing assistance, especially when taking a shower or sitting in a hot tub is not possible.

However, while several claims are made about the positive effects of 'washing without water' as compared to traditional bathing, EVIDENCE IS LACKING. Also, 'washing without water' is CONTROVERSIAL. While some are eager to adopt the new concept, others see it as 'efficiency gone loose' and denying patients one of the most basic elements of care: a proper bath. This study therefore addresses the cost effectiveness of 'washing without water' in bedridden patients.

Enrollment: 500 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 45+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• long stay psychogeriatric nursing home residents
• long stay somatic nursing home residents
• 100 randomly selected nurses from the participating nursing home wards

Exclusion criteria

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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500 participants in 2 patient groups

Washing without water

Experimental group

Description:

The experimental intervention is 'washing without water' and consists of disposable washing cloths made of a mix of soft synthetic fibers, saturated with a no rinse, quickly vaporizing skin cleaning and caring lotion.

Treatment:

Device: Washing without water

Traditional soap and water bath

Active Comparator group

Description:

The control intervention is the traditional bathing assistance as performed in care dependent patients by using tap water, a bowl, towels, washcloths and soap.

Treatment:

Device: Washing without water