Oral Care Cards as a Support in Daily Oral Care of Frail Older Adults: Experiences and Perceptions of Professionals in Nursing and Dental Care—A Qualitative StudyShow others and affiliations
2022 (English)In: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, ISSN 1661-7827, E-ISSN 1660-4601, Vol. 19, no 15, article id 9380
Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Frail older adults often have poor oral health. In Sweden, oral care cards are designed to be used as an interprofessional tool for documenting the oral health status of older adults with extensive care needs and to describe oral care recommendations. The aim of this study was to explore nursing and dental professionals’ experiences and perceptions of oral care cards. Nursing and dental care staff were interviewed in groups or individually. The recorded data were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using qualitative content analysis. A theme emerged: Navigating an oral care responsibility that is not anchored in the nursing and dental care context. The theme was elucidated in three categories: “Accessibility and usefulness”, “Coordination between nursing and dental care”, and “Ethical approach”. The participants perceived a lack of surrounding frameworks and collaboration concerning oral care and the use of oral care cards. An oral care card could ideally facilitate interprofessional and person-centered oral care. However, oral health does not seem to have found its place in the nursing care context. Further research is needed to investigate how oral care cards ought to be developed and designed to support oral health care work.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
MDPI AG , 2022. Vol. 19, no 15, article id 9380
Keywords [en]
frail older adults; interprofessional collaboration; nursing care; oral health; oral care documentation; person-centered care; qualitative methods
National Category
Social Work
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-203481DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19159380ISI: 000839019800001Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85136342632OAI: oai:DiVA.org:liu-203481DiVA, id: diva2:1857923
Note
Frail older adults often have poor oral health. In Sweden, oral care cards are designed to be used as an interprofessional tool for documenting the oral health status of older adults with extensive care needs and to describe oral care recommendations. The aim of this study was to explore nursing and dental professionals’ experiences and perceptions of oral care cards. Nursing and dental care staff were interviewed in groups or individually. The recorded data were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using qualitative content analysis. A theme emerged: Navigating an oral care responsibility that is not anchored in the nursing and dental care context. The theme was elucidated in three categories: “Accessibility and usefulness”, “Coordination between nursing and dental care”, and “Ethical approach”. The participants perceived a lack of surrounding frameworks and collaboration concerning oral care and the use of oral care cards. An oral care card could ideally facilitate interprofessional and person-centered oral care. However, oral health does not seem to have found its place in the nursing care context. Further research is needed to investigate how oral care cards ought to be developed and designed to support oral health care work.
2024-05-152024-05-152025-01-23Bibliographically approved