Good in Providing Oral Care, but we Could be Better-Nursing Staff Identification of Improvement Areas in Oral Care

Dental education in nursing schools: A pan-Canadian study

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to gather data on Canadian nursing programs regarding oral health curriculum and attitudes towards oral health curriculum to evaluate the level of oral health education in nursing programs and provide a reference for understanding dental and oral health in the nursing field.

METHODS

Data to inform models for oral health curriculum in nursing were collected through an online survey using a secured google form. The web-based questionnaire examined main aspects of dental and oral health in nursing educational institutions. Eligibility criteria for this study included faculty members of an accredited nursing program in Canada.

RESULTS

Of the 76 institutions approached, a total of 47 nursing faculty members from 35 nursing programs responded to the online survey. The vast majority (85.1 %) of the participants stated they believe oral health should be taught within nursing programs. Relating to the current curriculum, 70.2 % of the respondents stated their institution currently teaches anatomy relating to the oral cavity, but only 38.3 % reported their institution implemented oral diseases and pathology into the curriculum. Moreover, 48.9 % of the participants noted that dental screening was not covered in the nursing curriculum; 27.7 % of the respondents stated that their institution implemented education regarding gum disease, 25.5 % noted implementing education regarding oral cancer and oral lesions screening. Overall, 80.9 % of the participants noted that future nurses should be educated about oral cancer and disease prevention. However, in order to implement dental and oral health curriculums, participants noted certain needs such as time to implement curriculum (87.2 %) and more knowledge about the topic (83 %).

CONCLUSIONS

There is a current lack of content regarding dental and oral health in the curriculum of nursing programs throughout Canada. Due to this deficiency, many nursing graduates lack general knowledge about various aspects of dental and oral health.

A registry study of oral health problems and preventive interventions among older persons receiving municipal healthcare - PROSENIOR

AIM

The aim was to identify planned and completed preventive interventions among older persons with oral health problems receiving municipal health care. A further aim was to determine the correspondence between oral health problems and planned preventive interventions among older persons with oral health problems receiving municipal health care.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional register study.

METHODS

Oral health data from the Swedish national quality registry, Senior Alert, were extracted for 4,024 older persons (≥65 years) receiving municipal health care in a county in Southern Sweden. Data were statistically analysed.

RESULTS

A large majority of older persons (97.4%) with assessed oral health problems had at least one planned preventive intervention, and approximately three quarters of the planned interventions were completed. There seemed to be a mismatch between type of oral health problems and preventive interventions as not all older persons had a planned preventive intervention related to their specific oral health problem.