Abstract
This study involved 20 patients who were treated with an intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) and 20 nurses. We developed draft criteria and a comfort assessment tool based on observations of 15 patients with IABP using semi-structured interviews with participating patients and nurses and the measurement of the high-frequency component (0.15-0.40 Hz) of the patients' heart rate variability before and after bed bathing. The developed draft criteria and the comfort assessment tool were then applied to five patients. The comfort level of four of these five patients increased after bed bathing. The bed bathing criteria that were developed based on actual nursing practice enabled serious cases to become more comfortable after receiving a bed bath. The patients' comfort was thus presumed. Comfort after bed bathing may lead to the development of mutual trust between nurses and patients.
