Clinical trial NCT01187732: Washing Without Water: Cost-effectiveness of a Rapidly Spreading Nursing Intervention in Bedridden Patients'
Official title: WASHING WITHOUT WATER Cost-effectiveness of a Rapidly Spreading Nursing Intervention om Bedridden Patients'
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Skin Disease
Keywords: skin damage
intertrigo
dermatitis
erythema
aggression
body Wipes
soaps
no rinse
cost effectiveness
nursing home residents
nurse
Lead sponsor: Radboud University Medical Center
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: ZonMw: The Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development
First posted: 2010-08-24
Enrollment: 500
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 45
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: PREVENTION

Brief summary: 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.

Detailed 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.

Eligibility criteria: 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:

-

Primary outcomes:
measure: the primary outcome is prevalence of care associated skin damage
timeFrame: 6 weeks
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Patient and nurse satisfaction with bathing technique
timeFrame: 6 weeks
measure: Cost bathing
timeFrame: 6 weeks
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Nijmegen
country: Netherlands
facility: Radboud university medical center
state: Gelderland
Study officials:
affiliation: Radboud university medical center; IQ healthcare
name: Theo van Achterberg, PhD
role: STUDY_CHAIR
References:
citation: Schoonhoven L, van Gaal BG, Teerenstra S, Adang E, van der Vleuten C, van Achterberg T. Cost-consequence analysis of "washing without water" for nursing home residents: a cluster randomized trial. Int J Nurs Stud. 2015 Jan;52(1):112-20. doi: 10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2014.08.001. Epub 2014 Aug 10.