The objectives of this qualitative study were to understand the experience of the nursing dependent person for the bed-bath and develop a theoretical model of this experience. The Symbolic Interactionism perspective and Grounded Theory methodology were used to develop the study. Observation and interview were the strategies used for data collection. Based on data analysis, a phenomenon was identified: learning to assess life and nursing when the patient becomes dependent on nursing care for the bed-bath. The theoretical model shows the meaning of the patient experience in the bed-bath, integrated by the core category - proposing a nursing model for the bed-bath according to the patient assessment process, as opposed to the technical-scientific evolution of this procedure.
nursing care; bed rest; patients
