Evaluation of an oral health education program for nursing personnel in special housing facilities for the elderly. Part II: Clinical aspects.
In Sweden, efforts are being made to create strategies for evaluating realistic dental treatment needs among the elderly, who are retaining more natural teeth. These strategies focus on the importance of maintaining adequate oral hygiene. Elderly in long-term-care facilities often depend on nursing personnel for carrying out daily oral hygiene procedures. Therefore, the nursing personnel's knowledge about and attitudes toward oral health make oral health education for health care professionals an important concern. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical oral health outcome in residents after their caregivers had undergone a one-session, four-hour oral health education program. The study consisted of an intervention with a pre- and a post-test and was carried out in three municipalities in the southwestern part of Sweden. A newly developed oral health screening protocol was carried out for 170 subjects living in long-term-care facilities both before and 3-4 months after nursing personnel had attended an oral health education program. Following the intervention, a statistically significant improvement was recorded for changes in oral mucosal color, a modified plaque index which measured oral hygiene status, and a mucosal index which recorded mucosal inflammation. This study indicated that a limited, one-session, four-hour oral health education, offered to caregivers within long-term-care facilities, had a positive impact on the oral health status of residents.
Isaksson
R
R
rita.isaksson@lthalland.se
Paulsson
G
G
Fridlund
B
B
Nederfors
T
T
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D016321:Dental Care for Aged; D003774:Dental Plaque Index; D004506:Education, Nursing; D005260:Female; D006267:Health Education, Dental; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006304:Health Status; D006707:Homes for the Aged; D006801:Humans; D008134:Long-Term Care; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D009740:Nursing Staff; D009909:Oral Health; D009910:Oral Hygiene; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013280:Stomatitis / Q000145:classification; D013548:Sweden; D000078329:Workforce