The purpose of this study was to examine the knowledge, beliefs, and practices of nursing assistants (NAs) providing oral hygiene care to frail elders in nursing homes, with the intent of developing an educational program for NAs. Methods The study occurred in two economically and geographically diverse nursing homes. From a sample size of 202 NAs, 106 returned the 19-item Oral Care Survey. Results The NAs reported satisfactory knowledge regarding the tasks associated with providing mouth care. The NAs believed that tooth loss was a natural consequence of aging. They reported that they provided mouth care less frequently than is optimal but cited challenges such as caring for persons exhibiting care-resistive behaviors, fear of causing pain, and lack of supplies. Conclusion Nurses are in a powerful position to support NAs in providing mouth care by ensuring that they have adequate supplies and knowledge to respond to resistive behaviors.

Generativity is a concept first introduced by Erik Erikson as a part of his psychosocial theory which outlines eight stages of development in the human life. Generativity versus stagnation is the main developmental concern of middle adulthood; however, generativity is also recognized as an important theme in the lives of older adults. Building on the work of Erikson, McAdams and de St. Aubin (1992) developed a model explaining the generative process. The aims of this article are: (a) to explore the relationship between generativity and older adults as it appears in research literature; and (b) to examine McAdam's model and use it to explain the role of generativity in older adults who share life stories with gerontology students through an oral history project.

The primary purposes of this descriptive and prospective pilot study was to test the feasibility of a nursing and dental hygiene team to measure specific oral health indices in a sample of older adults residing in nursing homes (NHs). The secondary purpose was to determine the relationship between plaque and dentate status. Oral health indicators, functional status scores, and behavioral scores were collected and analyzed from 38 female NH residents from two geographically, organizationally, and economically diverse NHs. Persons with dentures had significantly lower plaque scores than those with natural dentition. Rural NH residents and African American NH residents had fewer filled teeth, indicating a potential lack of access to dental care. Oral health indicators were collected safely and efficiently from NH residents using a nursing and dental hygiene collaborative approach. Nursing and dental hygiene collaborations hold promise for improving the oral health in institutionalized elders.

This article discusses an application of the Lewinian/Kolb experiential learning model in the context of undergraduate participation in the Missouri Community Action Poverty Simulation (CAPS) program. CAPS is designed to simulate common, everyday experiences among people living in poverty as participants take on the roles of family members working to make ends meet. The creators of CAPS emphasize that “CAPS is not a game” but “a unique tool that community action agencies are able to use to educate everyone, from policy makers to community leaders, about the day to day realities of life with a shortage of money and an abundance of stress.” The authors facilitated the CAPS program with two large groups of undergraduate students enrolled in sociology, gerontology, and psychology courses at a medium-sized private college in south-central Pennsylvania. The analysis examines the experiential learning outcomes of the students as they reflect on their participation in the simulation. Following participation in CAPS, the students demonstrated an increased awareness of the material conditions of everyday life among families living in poverty.

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