Abstract
A serious shortage of human resources is a problem in the care sector in Japan,and improving productivity is an important issue.Bathing assistance takes more time than other types of assistance and places a greater burden on carers.Division of labour has been used to improve the efficiency of bathing assistance by dividing the workload between several carers for all patients (hereinafter referred to as ‘division of labour’).Division of labour is believed to increase productivity through concentration and proficiency of skills through specialisation.However,there is research that shows that the time required to assist one patient with bathing remains almost the same even with division of labour assistance,and the link between division of labour assistance and increased productivity is unclear.In this study,we conducted a role-play of the division of labour in bathing assistance with reference to previous studies,clarified the conditions for time reduction with division of labour assistance,and discussed the management required when bathing assistance is carried out with division of labour assistance.As a result, when the difference between the total time required and the elapsed time is a positive value, a time-saving effect can be confirmed,indicating that ‘simultaneous assistance’,in which two carers aid different users at the same time,is a condition.Next,as management required when bathing assistance is provided by the division of labour,it is necessary to achieve the goals of reducing the time required for bathing assistance and maintaining the safety and dignity of the user,and for this purpose,it was shown that a care plan based on the individual needs of the user and the simultaneous progress of care and the effective use of waiting time are necessary.This study contributes to improving work efficiency and reducing the burden on carers in bathing assistance.
