Comparison of attitudes, awareness, and perceptions regarding oral healthcare between dental and nursing students before and after oral healthcare education.

BACKGROUND: Oral healthcare education for health professional students is important to promote collaborative oral healthcare practice among health professionals. The purpose of this follow-up, cross-sectional study was to investigate attitudes, awareness, and perceptions regarding oral healthcare among dental and nursing students and to compare them both between baseline and the completion of the education programme and between dental and nursing students to identify problems with oral healthcare programmes in dental education. METHOD: The subjects included 88 dental and 119 nursing students. The dental students participated in geriatric and preventive dentistry courses for oral healthcare education. The nursing students participated in independent oral healthcare courses comprising 45 h of training with case-based learning and were taught and instructed by multiple health professionals, including dentists. Questionnaires were distributed to the participants to compare attitudes, awareness, and perceptions regarding oral healthcare between baseline and the completion of the education programme and between dental and nursing students. A chi-square test, Wilcoxon signed-rank test, and Mann-Whitney U test were used to compare the data. RESULT AND CONCLUSION: The data of 48 (28 male and 20 female) dental students and 103 (9 male and 94 female) nursing students who completed the questionnaires both at baseline and after the education programme were used for the comparisons. After the education programme, more than 90% of the students were interested in oral healthcare practice; hoped to practise oral healthcare post-qualification; and perceived oral healthcare to be effective for preventing dental caries, periodontal diseases, and aspiration pneumonia. These attitudes and perceptions were statistically significantly improved after the education. However, the level of awareness of oral healthcare and the level of perception of the importance of collaboration with healthcare workers in oral healthcare practice after education were lower in the dental students than in the nursing students. Multi-professional oral healthcare education with case-based learning has the potential to improve awareness of oral healthcare and perceptions of the importance of collaborative oral healthcare practice.

Implementation of peer-to-peer oral care objective structured clinical examination-based learning for nursing students.

AIM: Nurses' skills and confidence in providing oral care to patients play important roles in healthcare. Studies have proved that peer-to-peer learning and assessment can help improve nurses' skills and confidence. However, no study has investigated it using an objective assessment checklist. This study investigated an oral hygiene practice training program for nursing students. It focused on their oral healthcare skills, confidence, and perspectives regarding implementing an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE). METHODS: A pre- and post-survey of 97 nursing students from a nursing school in Japan was conducted as a peer-to-peer oral health education training program that included an assessment and performance checklist. RESULTS: Confidence in performing and assessing oral care significantly improved after attending the program. Furthermore, the changes were significantly greater in the developed program than in the training program without the checklist. The mean total assessment scores (0-25) of the first, second, third, and fourth participants in the four-student groups were 22.1, 23.4, 23.9, and 24.1, respectively. The mean scores of the second, third, and fourth participant groups were significantly higher than that of the first participant group (p < .01). Fifty-two positive and 58 negative comments were received regarding the implementation of the program with professional assessments and the checklist. The most common positive comment mentioned that the evaluation by professionals improved oral care learning and skills. CONCLUSIONS: This study developed a program to improve nursing students' confidence and oral care delivery skill building in an OSCE-style delivery.

Current status and future prospects for oral care education in Bachelor of Nursing curriculums: A Japanese cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: This study sought to investigate the current status and faculty members' perceptions of oral care education in Bachelor of Nursing curriculums in Japan. METHOD: Data were gathered through a questionnaire survey of 196 participants, who were faculty members in charge of oral care education in the basic, adult, gerontological, and home nursing fields, from 295 nursing schools that offered Bachelor degrees in nursing across Japan. RESULTS: The quantitative data showed that 38.5% of the participants worked for less than 5 years as oral care educators, only 15.5% taught oral care in perioperative wards, only 62.2% used an oral care training simulator, and less than 30% believed that training in the prevention of oral diseases should be enhanced. From the descriptive responses, this study identified such problems as the inability of students to perform student-on-student and patient-based oral care training owing to the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission, and the lack of teaching materials, time, and human resources, and cooperation with other nursing fields and health professionals. CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed several problems in oral care education in the Bachelor of Nursing curriculums in Japan. To tackle these challenges, this study suggests the development of an interdisciplinary course that unifies oral care education in nursing fields, in order to promote collaborative oral care education and to improve nursing students' knowledge and skills of oral care.

A Survey of Oral Assessment and Healthcare Education at Nursing Schools in Japan.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate the performance of oral assessment and health care education at nursing schools across Japan to identify problems and the need for oral health professional support. METHODS: The participants were the academic staff in charge of oral health care education in the basic, adult, gerontological, and home nursing fields of 295 schools in Japan that offered a bachelor's degree in nursing. A questionnaire was sent to 1180 heads of the nursing fields of these schools. They were requested to have oral health care educators complete the survey; data on the performance of oral assessment and health care education and human resources allocated were collected through a questionnaire. RESULTS: A total of 311 (26%) questionnaires were returned, 196 (63%) of which were completed by oral health care educators. Regarding the performance of oral assessment education, the majority (71%) of them spent less than 2 hours in teaching, and only 24.5% taught the usage of oral assessment tools. Regarding the performance of oral health care education, more than 90% spent less than 2 hours in lecture-based and practical oral health care education, respectively. Less than half taught the association of periodontal diseases with diabetes and cardiovascular diseases and use of fluoride for caries prevention in the lectures, and only approximately 30% taught the usage of an interspace brush or dental floss. Moreover, less than 10% of oral health professionals taught oral health care in lectures or practical oral health care. CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed problems associated with oral assessment and health care education in Japanese nursing schools. To address these, support from oral health care professionals is required. Further studies are also required to reveal problems in oral assessment and health care education in other nursing schools that do not offer a bachelor's degree programme in Japan and other countries.

Effect of multi-professional education on the perceptions and awareness of oral health care among undergraduate nursing students in a nursing school.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigates the effects of a study course in oral health care on the perceptions of nursing students. The course was designed and evaluated by a multi-professional team at a Japanese nursing school. METHOD: The subjects were 119 nursing students. They participated in the oral health course that comprised 45h of training in 4 years. These were designed and taught by oral health professionals, a certified speech-hearing therapist, and nurses. Questionnaires were distributed to subjects to compare their perceptions and awareness about oral health care before, in between, and after the courses. A chi-square test was used to compare the data. RESULTS: After completing the courses, more than 95% of the participants were interested in the oral health care practice and expected to collaborate with oral health professionals after getting qualified. Additionally, they understood the effectiveness of oral health care for the prevention of aspiration pneumonia and perceived that oral health care should be provided to hospitalized patients and community-dwelling older adults. Their awareness of the need to learn techniques for tooth brushing support, salivary gland massage, oral management, swallowing training, removing tongue coating, and gargling, both in theory and practice, was significantly improved. CONCLUSION: Multi-professional education has the potential to improve the awareness of nursing students of oral health care and promote collaborative oral health care in the future.

Effect of educational environments on nursing faculty members' perceptions regarding oral care.

AIM: To investigate nursing faculty members' perceptions of oral care and to identify the effects of an educational environment on their perceptions. METHODS: A cross-sectional questionnaire regarding oral care was conducted at eight nursing schools in Japan. A total of 156 (71.6%) faculty members participated in this study. Their perceptions of oral care practice were compared by using a statistical analysis according to the length of work experience, teaching field, school, and facility setting (defined as whether the school had an affiliated hospital with a dental department). RESULTS: Almost all of the faculty members were nurses and most were female. Almost all perceived that oral care was effective in the prevention of aspiration pneumonia and frailty. There were significant differences by teaching field in the nurses' perceptions regarding with whom they should collaborate to conduct oral care and there were significant differences by school in the nurses' perceptions regarding who should provide oral care, where it should be provided, and what kinds of knowledge are important for practice. Perceptions of low involvement in oral care were significantly associated with the schools having an affiliated university hospital with a dental department. CONCLUSION: There were different perceptions regarding oral care among nursing faculty members and their perceptions might have been affected by their educational environment. Therefore, it is suggested that oral care education should be standardized and nursing faculty members should standardize the curriculum regarding oral care for nursing students.

A report of two linked studies of knowledge and attitudes to prenatal screening and testing in adults of reproductive age in Japan and the UK.

BACKGROUND: prenatal screening for fetal abnormality is being offered routinely in many countries. The need for informed consent demands that the nature of screening is understood by prospective parents, but the opportunities for providing information early in pregnancy before decision-making may be limited. OBJECTIVE: to assess the knowledge about, and attitudes to, prenatal screening in adults of reproductive age in two countries. DESIGN: two groups of adults were surveyed using a specifically designed tool to assess knowledge about fetal abnormalities and potential screening tests, attitudes to screening and termination of pregnancy, and information required by parents before making decisions. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: 90 participants were surveyed in Japan, 72% of whom were pregnant or had a partner who was pregnant; 93 participants were surveyed in the UK, none of whom were pregnant. All respondents were aged between 18 and 45 years. MEASUREMENTS: demographic data were collected and analysed. Frequencies were calculated for each questionnaire response. A series of t-tests and chi(2) tests were used to assess differences between the two groups. Free-text data were analysed using content analysis. FINDINGS: overall knowledge of prenatal tests and the conditions for which screening is offered was low in both groups. Significant differences exist between the perception of the conditions for which screening or testing can be offered and the types of conditions that can actually be detected prenatally. Most respondents in both countries would consider termination of pregnancy for fetal abnormality. The information most frequently cited by respondents as important when deciding about testing were the chances of damage to the health of fetus, mother, or both. KEY CONCLUSIONS: women and men of reproductive age in the groups studied are not well-prepared to make decisions about screening or testing in pregnancy. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: improvements in preconceptual education on prenatal screening and testing may be required to ensure prospective parents can make informed decisions in early pregnancy.

Genetic education in baccalaureate and associate degree nursing programs in Japan.

The purpose of the present study was to ascertain the amount and type of genetic content in basic nursing education programs in Japan baccalaureate degree (BSN) and associate degree (ADN), and to describe the qualifications of faculty members teaching the genetics content. A questionnaire was used to examine these. The sample was derived from 66 basic nursing preparatory programs. Faculty members from 34 out of 75 (44.7%) of the BSN programs and 32 out of 52 (61.5%) of the ADN programs returned completed surveys, providing a total response rate of 52%. As a result of the analysis of the survey data, the researchers recommend increasing the amount of genetic content, related to nursing practice, in the curriculum of Japanese baccalaureate and associate degree nursing programs. In addition, the researchers recommend increasing the number of nursing faculty specialising in genetics. Japanese nursing education must incorporate genetic knowledge into the curricula to produce professionals who are prepared to practise in the current and future genetic health care arena.

Genetic content in Japanese language nursing textbooks.

The purpose of this study was to assess the amount of genetic content included in Japanese language nursing textbooks. A total of 222 Japanese nursing textbooks for registered nurses, public health nurses, and nurse midwives published by five publishers in 2001 were evaluated for genetic content. The textbooks were reviewed for content in fundamental knowledge of genetics, genetic diseases, genetic counseling, and nursing care for patients with genetic problems. Results from the review indicated that although information about genetics was found in more than half of the textbooks, descriptions of the roles of nurses in genetic counseling and nursing interventions related mostly to single gene disorders. These findings suggest that not all Japanese nursing textbooks contain genetic content and that they do not include the latest knowledge concerning common diseases and genetic nursing interventions. Although the study did not review other educational methods, based on these findings, nursing educators in Japan should introduce textbooks with genetic information that will prepare registered nurses, public health nurses, and nurse midwives to remain current in genetic concepts and to apply these concepts to their nursing roles through genetic counseling and patient care.

Cat scratch disease: analysis of 130 seropositive cases.

To clarify the clinical manifestations of cat scratch disease (CSD), we evaluated a total of 130 seropositive patients with CSD. The patients' ages ranged from 1 to 68 years; 103 (79.2%) were under 18 years of age. CSD occurred predominantly in the fall and winter months. Regional lymphadenopathy was noted in 110 (84.6%) of the cases, and the most common sites were the neck (33%), axillary (27%), and inguinal (18%) regions. One hundred of the patients (77%) had general symptoms, such as fever, headache, and malaise. The clinical manifestations of CSD showed a wide spectrum from typical or classical CSD, with regional lymphadenopathy, to atypical or systemic CSD. Of the 130 cases, 103 (79.2%) were typical CSD and 27 (20.8%) were atypical CSD. Atypical cases of CSD were commonly reported as fever of unknown origin (37.0%), neuroretinitis (22.2%), encephalopathy (14.8%), hepatosplenic granuloma (11.1%), and Parinaud's oculoglandular syndrome (7.4%). Fever of unknown origin or prolonged fever lasting more than 14 days was evident in 27 (20.8%) of the 130 cases in this study. Eleven of the 27 cases lacked lymphadenopathy. Our findings suggest that CSD is not a rare disease in Japan. The indirect fluorescent antibody (IFA) test to detect Bartonella species may provide a prompt diagnosis of CSD and facilitate appropriate therapy.