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 Study

Jessica Persson, Isabelle Johansson, Cristina Joy Torgé, Eva-Karin Bergström, Catharina Hägglin and Inger Wårdh
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Jessica Persson: Department of Health Sciences, University West, 461 86 Trollhättan, Sweden
Isabelle Johansson: Centre for Gerodontology, Public Dental Service, Region Västra Götaland, 402 33 Gothenburg, Sweden
Cristina Joy Torgé: Institute of Gerontology, School of Health and Welfare, Jönköping University, 553 18 Jönköping, Sweden
Eva-Karin Bergström: Centre for Gerodontology, Public Dental Service, Region Västra Götaland, 402 33 Gothenburg, Sweden
Catharina Hägglin: Centre for Gerodontology, Public Dental Service, Region Västra Götaland, 402 33 Gothenburg, Sweden
Inger Wårdh: Department of Dental Medicine and Academic Centre of Geriatric Dentistry, Karolinska Institute, 141 52 Huddinge, Sweden

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 15, 1-12

Abstract: 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.

Keywords: frail older adults; interprofessional collaboration; nursing care; oral health; oral care documentation; person-centered care; qualitative methods (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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