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Article

Novel Bathing Assist Device Decreases the Physical Burden on Caregivers and Difficulty of Bathing Activity in Care Recipients: A Pilot Study

by
Kenji Kato
1,*,†,
Keita Aimoto
2,†,
Koki Kawamura
2,
Tatsuya Yoshimi
1,
Naoki Itoh
2 and
Izumi Kondo
3
1
Laboratory of Clinical Evaluation with Robotics, Assistive Robot Center, National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, 7-430, Morioka, Obu 474-8511, Japan
2
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, 7-430, Morioka, Obu 474-8511, Japan
3
Assistive Robot Center, National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, 7-430, Morioka, Obu 474-8511, Japan
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(19), 10131; https://doi.org/10.3390/app121910131
Submission received: 14 July 2022 / Revised: 16 September 2022 / Accepted: 4 October 2022 / Published: 9 October 2022
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Application of Robots in Medical Diagnosis and Treatment)
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Reducing Physical Burden for Caregivers by Use of a Bathing Assist Device.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the use of a bathing assist device, “Bath Assist” (BA), could reduce the physical burden on caregivers providing bathing assistance and also alleviate the difficulty of bathing activities for care recipients. BA is a robotic device that is attached to the bathtub. The seat can be raised and lowered using the water pressure from the shower tap. The four caregivers and four care recipients were paired one-to-one to simulate bathing activity, and the physical burden on each caregiver during bathing assistance was evaluated with and without the use of BA by observation, questionnaire, and wireless surface electromyography. For caregivers, BA transformed the task of assisting care recipients into and out of the bathtub into a monitoring activity. Additionally, the muscle activity of the caregivers’ lumbar region, trunk, and upper limbs, which are used to assist care recipients out of the bathtub, was significantly reduced when using BA. Questionnaires confirmed that the use of BA reduced the physical burden on caregivers. These results indicate that BA has the potential to reduce both the physical burden on caregivers during bathing assistance and the difficulties care recipients experience during bathing.
Keywords: bathing care; assistive technology; electromyography; physical burden; caregiver bathing care; assistive technology; electromyography; physical burden; caregiver

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MDPI and ACS Style

Kato, K.; Aimoto, K.; Kawamura, K.; Yoshimi, T.; Itoh, N.; Kondo, I. Novel Bathing Assist Device Decreases the Physical Burden on Caregivers and Difficulty of Bathing Activity in Care Recipients: A Pilot Study. Appl. Sci. 2022, 12, 10131. https://doi.org/10.3390/app121910131

AMA Style

Kato K, Aimoto K, Kawamura K, Yoshimi T, Itoh N, Kondo I. Novel Bathing Assist Device Decreases the Physical Burden on Caregivers and Difficulty of Bathing Activity in Care Recipients: A Pilot Study. Applied Sciences. 2022; 12(19):10131. https://doi.org/10.3390/app121910131

Chicago/Turabian Style

Kato, Kenji, Keita Aimoto, Koki Kawamura, Tatsuya Yoshimi, Naoki Itoh, and Izumi Kondo. 2022. "Novel Bathing Assist Device Decreases the Physical Burden on Caregivers and Difficulty of Bathing Activity in Care Recipients: A Pilot Study" Applied Sciences 12, no. 19: 10131. https://doi.org/10.3390/app121910131

APA Style

Kato, K., Aimoto, K., Kawamura, K., Yoshimi, T., Itoh, N., & Kondo, I. (2022). Novel Bathing Assist Device Decreases the Physical Burden on Caregivers and Difficulty of Bathing Activity in Care Recipients: A Pilot Study. Applied Sciences, 12(19), 10131. https://doi.org/10.3390/app121910131

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