The impact of introducing an unconscious and unrestrained monitoring system on the workload of the care staffs in the nursing home

The aim of this study was to clarify how the introduction of a 24-hour unconscious and unrestrained monitoring system in a nursing home affected the physical and mental functions of care staffs. This system was composed of an air pressure sensor system and an ultrasonic oscillosensor system. The intervened participants were ten care staffs (age 37.4+/−14.2) and nineteen elderly persons (age 85.6+/-8.9) in a nursing home, Osaka, Japan. We carried out a baseline survey at the end of September 2008, and the follow-up study was done at the end of October 2008. From the comparisons of the average scores of measurements between pre- and post-intervention using generalized linear model, the scores of “energy expenditure during diaper changing”, “frequency of diaper changing”, and “decreased work incentives” (P<0.01, P<0.05). These results suggest that the introduction of the 24-hour monitoring system in the nursing home could decrease care burden of the care staffs.