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The Bath Environment, The Bathing Task, And The Older Adult: A Review And Future Directions For Bathing Disability Research, Susan L. Murphy, Kimberlee A. Gretebeck, Neil B. Alexander

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

Purpose. To review existing research studies to identify optimal intervention strategies for remediation and prevention of bathing disability and future directions for bathing disability research.

Method. Bathing disability, defined as problems in the interaction between the person and the environment during bathing performance, is examined through a comprehensive, narrative literature review.

Results. Most studies focus on the relationship between the person and the environment (such as assistive device use and environmental hazards) while fewer studies focus on analysis of the bathing task or the interaction of the person, environment, and bathing task. Of intervention studies, most do …