About 80% of Experienced Care Workers Feel 'Bathing Assistance is More Physically and Mentally Burdensome Than Other Tasks.' Top Pain Points are 'Stooping Posture,' 'Risk of Falls,' and 'Assisting with Dressing/Undressing'

Survey on the Burden of 'Bathing Assistance' in Nursing Care

One of the most labor-intensive tasks in nursing care is 'bathing assistance.'

In conditions such as a stooped posture in a narrow bathroom, transfers on a wet floor, and high temperature and humidity in the summer, caregivers experience significant physical and mental stress.

However, there are not many opportunities to discuss in numbers 'how much time is actually spent on site, what is found to be difficult,' or 'how much it affects the body.'

Therefore, this time, in collaboration with the shower bathing equipment company Viami, we conducted a survey on the 'actual burden of bathing assistance in nursing care' targeting 50 men and women nationwide who answered in a preliminary survey that they have 'experience working as a care worker.'

*When citing the contents of this press release, please do the following: - State that the source is 'a survey by NEXER Inc. and the shower bathing equipment Viami.' - Set up a link to the shower bathing equipment Viami (https://viami.awmi.co.jp/).

'Survey on the Actual Burden of Bathing Assistance in Nursing Care' Overview

Survey Method: Online questionnaire Survey Period: May 2, 2026 - May 8, 2026 Survey Respondents: Men and women nationwide who answered in a preliminary survey that they 'have experience working as a care worker' Valid Responses: 50 samples

Question Contents: Question 1: How much time per day did you spend on 'bathing assistance' in your work? Question 2: Did you feel that bathing assistance was more physically and mentally burdensome than other care tasks? Question 3: Please tell us the reason. Question 4: What situations did you find particularly 'tough' or 'hard' during bathing assistance? (Multiple answers allowed) Question 5: Have you ever experienced physical problems (back pain, shoulder stiffness, heatstroke, etc.) due to bathing assistance? Question 6: If you have any experiences where you felt burdened by bathing assistance or points you would like to see improved, please tell us.

*As a general rule, figures are rounded to one decimal place, so the total may not be 100%.

24.0% Answered They Spent '2 or More Hours a Day' on Bathing Assistance

First, we asked about the time spent on bathing assistance in their work.

The results were 22.0% for '30 minutes to less than 1 hour' and 20.0% for '1 to less than 2 hours.'

Also, '2 to less than 3 hours' was 18.0%, and '3 hours or more' was 6.0%, showing that a combined 24.0% of respondents spent two or more hours a day on bathing assistance. 'Less than 30 minutes' was 16.0%.

Furthermore, 18.0% of respondents answered that it 'varies greatly by day,' suggesting that the workload differs from day to day. The results show that bathing assistance is not a short task and accounted for a large portion of daily care work.

82.0% Answered That Bathing Assistance is 'More Physically and Mentally Burdensome' Than Other Tasks

Next, we asked about the feeling of burden from bathing assistance.

The results were 52.0% for 'very large' and 30.0% for 'somewhat large,' revealing that a combined 82.0% of respondents felt that bathing assistance was more burdensome than other care tasks. On the other hand, 'about the same' was 14.0%, and 'did not feel much' was only 4.0%.

It can be seen that over 80% of experienced care workers perceived bathing assistance as a physically and mentally burdensome task.

We asked for the reasons why they felt it was a large burden, and here are some of them.

Reasons for Feeling a Large Burden - 'The heat in the bathroom is especially tough on the body in the summer.' (Male, 30s) - 'It often takes a long time to bring people with dementia to the bathroom, and there is something like a quota for the number of baths per day, which creates pressure.' (Female, 30s) - 'The need to be careful about fall accidents is greater than with other types of assistance.' (Male, 40s) - 'It was one-on-one in unit care, so the responsibility was greater for assisting alone, and it was hot and burdensome in the summer.' (Male, 40s) - 'The time spent on each user is fixed, so you have to hurry to some extent.' (Male, 40s) - 'Lifting and washing the residents' bodies requires a lot of strength.' (Male, 60s)

The feedback reveals a reality where multiple burdens overlap, not just physical hardship. In addition to physical loads like 'lifting bodies' and 'washing,' mental pressures such as 'needing to be careful about fall accidents' and 'great responsibility' were also raised.

Furthermore, with the heat of the bathroom in summer and the burden of having to finish within a set time, it is clear that multiple stress factors occur simultaneously during bathing assistance.