Improving oral health in nursing home residents: A cluster randomized trial of a shared oral care intervention.

OBJECTIVES: To compare a designated shared oral care intervention in a group of public nursing home residents with a standard oral care programme, focusing on levels of oral plaque and oral inflammation. METHODS: A cluster randomized field trial was undertaken in 14 Danish public nursing homes. There were 145 participants included in the intervention group and 98 in the control group. We undertook a six-month intervention based on the principle of situated interprofessional learning. The primary outcomes were plaque and inflammation levels measured with the mucosal plaque index (MPS); this was assessed at baseline, after three and six months (end of intervention), and at follow-up (six months postintervention). The odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated with ordinal regression. RESULTS: Socio-demographic characteristics and oral health status at baseline were comparable between the two groups, with the exception of age: the intervention group were significantly younger than controls (median 82 vs 87 years). After three and six months, those receiving the shared oral care intervention had significantly lower plaque and inflammation than the control group. The adjusted ORs for a reduction in MPS were 11.8 (CI: 6.5-21.3) and 11.0 (CI: 5.8-20.9), respectively. At follow-up, plaque levels and oral inflammation had approached the pre-intervention level, with no remaining statistically significant group differences. CONCLUSIONS: The shared oral care intervention based on a situated learning perspective was effective in improving oral health among care home residents. However, after termination of the intervention, the effect quickly decreased. This confirms the challenges of achieving long-term improvement in oral health in nursing home residents. An implementation strategy focusing on achieving changes at both organizational and individual levels with persistent attention to oral health care seem required for long-term improvement.

Improving oral health in nursing home residents: A process evaluation of a shared oral care intervention.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the process of implementing an oral care intervention in nursing homes in a Danish municipality. BACKGROUND: Older people with aged natural dentition require preventive and curative oral health care. An intervention based on principles of situated learning was implemented to establish closer cooperation between dental and nursing staff in nursing homes, leading to improved oral hygiene in nursing home residents. DESIGN: An embedded multiple-case study combined with principles of realist evaluation unfolded in three phases: Formulation of initial programme theory, Testing and Refining the programme theory. The COREQ checklist is followed in reporting. METHODS: Observations, six group interviews and 22 face-to-face interviews with dentists, dental practitioners, nursing home managers, care professionals and residents were conducted in three nursing homes (n = 41). RESULTS: Three main outcomes of a programme theory were identified, relating to (a) residents, in the form of new oral care routines; (b) interdisciplinary working, in the form of professional pride in performing sufficient oral care; (c) organisational level changes, in the form of increased interdisciplinary knowledge sharing. The overarching supportive mechanisms were the creation of relationships between residents, dental practitioners and care professionals as well as nursing home management taking responsibility for structure, planning and knowledge sharing. CONCLUSION: The situated learning perspective supported residents and care professionals' competencies in performing sufficient oral care. The shared oral care intervention supports an individual and multidisciplinary assessment of nursing home residents' ability to self-care concerning oral care. Contextual factors, supportive and restraining mechanisms influence the intervention's success. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Understanding the complexity within interdisciplinary cooperation in primary nursing and unravelling the necessary properties to enhance nursing home residents' oral health care are areas of improvement for care service in nursing homes.

Patients Scheduled for General Anesthesia: Betwixt and Between Worrying Thoughts and Keeping Focus.

PURPOSE: The purpose of the research was to explore the interaction between cancer patients and Registered Nurse Anesthetists (RNAs) before general anesthesia from the patients' perspective. DESIGN: Focused ethnography was used as method for data collection. METHODS: Surgical patients' interactions with the RNAs were observed during preparations for general anesthesia and further explored during an interview on the first or second postoperative day. Methodological concepts of Grounded Theory structured the analysis. FINDINGS: The core variable describes patients being in an intermediate position, not knowing the outcome of the anesthetic and surgical procedures. The core variable is elaborated by subcore variables describing patients' coping strategies and need for care. CONCLUSIONS: Patients' experiences of being cared for and supported in their coping strategies by RNAs will substantiate patients' predisposed confidence in the RNA and the anesthetic procedure. This will support patients in keeping focus in a highly technological environment.

Identifying Nurse Anesthetists' Professional Identity.

PURPOSE: To explore professional identity of registered nurse anesthetists (RNAs) and RNAs' expectations of their professional self and the expectations RNAs meet from interdisciplinary team members when preparing patients for general anesthesia. DESIGN: Focused ethnography was used for data collection. METHODS: Participant observations and interviews were conducted with patients scheduled for surgery and with RNAs in charge of the patients during the anesthetic procedures. Interviews with RNAs, anesthesiologists, and operation nurses with a specific focus on RNAs' professional identity were performed. The analysis was inspired by grounded theory. FINDINGS: A core variable of Identifying the professional self is presented, and two subcore variables are delineated: Gliding between tasks and structures and Depending on independence. CONCLUSIONS: RNAs are at risk of downsizing psychosocial and relational aspects of fundamentals of care in favor of performing technological procedures, and RNAs' professional values are influenced by the work culture in the Department of Anesthesiology.

Interaction Between Nurse Anesthetists and Patients in a Highly Technological Environment.

PURPOSE: To explore the specific interactions between patients and nurse anesthetists in the highly technological environment of anesthesia nursing, focusing on the time interval between patient entrance into the operating room and induction of general anesthesia. DESIGN: Focused ethnography was used for data collection. METHODS: Participant observation and interview of 13 hospitalized patients being admitted for major or minor surgical procedures and 13 nurse anesthetists in charge of their patients and anesthetic procedures. Photographs were taken of specific situations and technological objects in the observation context. The analysis was inspired by grounded theory. FINDING: A core variable of creating emotional energy is presented, and two subcore variables are delineated: instilling trust and performing embodied actions. CONCLUSION: Creating emotional energy has an important impact on the interaction between patients and nurse anesthetists. Furthermore, the motives underpinning nurse anesthetists' interactions with patients are a central constituent in developing anesthesia care.