Environmental and Behavioral Conditions of Bathing among Elderly Japanese

This study investigated the bathing conditions of elderly Japanese, and sought to find factors relating to regional differences in death rates from bathtub accidents. A questionnaire survey was carried out in 11 areas of Japan. Questionnaires including questions regarding the length of time since ho...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of PHYSIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2007, Vol.26(2), pp.235-240
Main Authors: Takasaki, Yuji, Ohnaka, Tadakatsu, Tochihara, Yutaka, Nagai, Yumiko, Ito, Hiromitsu, Yoshitake, Shiro
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
accident
Accidental Falls - prevention & control
Age Factors
Aged
bathroom
Baths
elderly people
Environment Design
Female
Housing for the Elderly
Humans
Japan - epidemiology
Male
regional difference
Sex Factors
Surveys and Questionnaires
Temperature
thermal sensation
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Summary:This study investigated the bathing conditions of elderly Japanese, and sought to find factors relating to regional differences in death rates from bathtub accidents. A questionnaire survey was carried out in 11 areas of Japan. Questionnaires including questions regarding the length of time since houses had been built, types of facilities, and subjects' indoor thermal sensations and behavior while bathing were distributed to detached houses in each area twice, once in summer and once in winter. Completed questionnaires were collected from approximately 160 elderly people over 65 years old. Information regarding thermal sensations of rooms in winter revealed that a prefabricated bath and insulating window glass eased the cold in the bathroom. Unexpectedly, more subjects in the southern region than in the northern region reported being cold or a little cold while bathing in winter. In the present study, thermal sensations and behaviors while bathing seemed to be more affected by facilities and the location of houses than by the sex and age of the subjects.
ISSN:1880-6791
1880-6805
DOI:10.2114/jpa2.26.235