This quasi-experimental research aimed to study the incidence and duration of rash on the skin of bedridden patients. The moisture and temperature on bedridden patients’ skin were compared between nano-zinc oxide bed sheets and normal bed sheets. The 62 bedridden patients were divided into 2 groups – 31 patients who received normal care with nano-zinc oxide bed sheets as the experimental group and 31 patients who received normal care and normal bed sheets as the control group. Data were collected by using a general data questionnaire, assessment form for skin rash, and skin moisture and temperature data records for the back, hips and legs at days 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, and 14. The data were analyzed for incidence values. The moisture and temperature values between the control and experimental group were analyzed with repeated measures ANOVA.
The results of the research revealed the following:
After the experiment, there was no incidence of rash on the skin of neither the control nor the experimental groups.
The skin rash for the back, hips and legs of 7 subjects – 5 from the experimental group and 2 from the control – which appeared before the study disappeared and turned to normal within 4-8 days for the experimental group, while the ones in the control group still remained throughout the study period.
The mean score of skin moisture for the back and hips and the mean score of skin temperature for the back, hips and legs of the experimental group were statistically significantly better than those of the subjects in the control group (p < .05).
It appears that nano-zinc oxide bed sheets can reduce moisture for the back and hips, the areas where the rash most often appears; moreover, it can reduce temperature for the back, hips and legs. However, further research should include nano-zinc fabric to more subjects or include the use of clothing for bedridden patients.