Bathing in residential care: understanding the experiences of residents and their care providers

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand how changes in an older adult’s physical capacity alter their bathing preferences, how the care environment incorporates residents’ values and beliefs around bathing to fulfil these changing care needs, and how institutional factors, such as staff scheduling and communication processes, influence Resident Care Aides’ (RCAs) bathing practices. Design/methodology/approach – A multiple methods approach involving surveys and interviews with residents and RCAs in a Canadian residential care facility. This paper draws mostly from the semi-structured, qualitative interviews with older adult residents (n=9; Mini Mental Status Exam (MMSE) scores > 15) and RCAs (n=10) on two nursing units offering different bathing options. Findings – Decreasing energy levels and physical decline were commonly cited reasons for residents’ changing bathing preferences. Residents were overall very appreciative of the bathing care they received in residential care, and identified th...