Nurses’ educational needs in the oral health of inpatients at Yazd Province in Iran: a Delphi study

Abstract

Background Oral hygiene is an integral part of general health of a person. Nurses qualified about oral care can play an important role in improving the quality of oral health in hospitalized patients. This study investigated the educational needs of nurses in the field of oral health of hospitalized patients. Methods The study used the modified Delphi method in three rounds. Fifty faculty members of the School of Dentistry and Nursing were selected via purposive sampling. The data collection tool was a demographic form and an open-ended questionnaire in the first round and a structured questionnaire in the next rounds. The analysis was performed using both content and descriptive analysis techniques. Results The top ten oral health education priorities for nurses were greater than 75% with a consensus level: oral anatomy and physiology, learning the signs and symptoms of common oral diseases, learning of oral medications and administration, learning the drugs that cause damage to the mouth and teeth, training in managing dental emergencies, patient education for tooth brushing and taking care of the mouth, especially in the elderly patient, providing oral and dental care, training for unconscious and fasting patients, undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and hospitalization in intensive care unit. Conclusion The findings of the study emphasized the need for interdisciplinary cooperation between nursing and dental professionals for the development of an oral health curriculum for nurses to promote and improve oral health and prevent dental diseases in hospitalized patients and the community.

Nurses’ practice and educational needs in oral care for postoperative patients with oral cancer in ICUs: a multicenter cross-sectional study

“…The top five training contents were indications and contraindications of oral care, tools of oral care, mouthwash of oral care, evaluation of oral care, and the time of the first oral care. This result was different from a previous study, which investigated the educational needs of nurses in the field of oral health of hospitalized patients [ 27 ]. This may be due to the different patients, which also confirmed the hypothesis that nurses might have different levels of knowledge and skills of oral care for different patients.…”

“…The nurses believed that the lack of knowledge on oral care for patients with oral cancer after surgery is the primary obstacle to implementing oral care. Almost all of the nurses participating in the survey declared that they needed relevant training, which was in agreement with previous studies indicating that nurses would appreciate the opportunity to enhance and improve their knowledge and skills through training [27,52].…”

“…The questionnaire was designed by the study researchers after reviewing the literature [24][25][26][27] and consulting oral nursing experts. The questionnaire was reviewed and revised by five critical care experts and oral care experts who were familiar with this field.…”

“…Although oral care is a basic provision of nursing, many studies have shown that nurses have insufficient knowledge of oral care for different patients [47][48][49][50]. Seyed found that nurses who were qualified for oral care could improve the quality of oral health in hospitalized patients [27]. Aoki's research [51] showed that poor nurse-dental hygienist inter-rater reliability was apparent, even if using the same assessment tool.…”

Perspectives of Australian nursing educators on the preparation of nursing students for the care of older people's oral health

“…35 The perspectives of nurse educators in the current study suggest that it would be valuable for administrators and policymakers who determine nursing accreditation standards to develop standards that specify oral health education, including interprofessional and collaborative practice, for the oral healthcare of older people. 36 These standards would also help to overcome the current siloed approach to oral and general health at a national level. Such standards would be a positive influence in integrating oral and general health through collaborative work with the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, and the Australian Dental Association (ADA) at national, policy levels.…”