부산대학교 도서관

INTRODUCTION Little is known about oral nursing care practice which supports care-dependent older adults' oral health, especially those ageing in their own homes, owing to a lack of interprofessional collaboration, [...]
Background: Oral care is a fundamental part of nursing care, especially for care-dependent older adults, yet it remains one of the most neglected nursing interventions. This is largely due to the lack of standard nursing oral care protocols, effective training and awareness of the benefits for older adults. Aim: The aim of this research will be to establish evidence-based oral care guidelines, using interprofessional collaboration and education, with the aim of improving nursing oral care practice. We also plan to pilot these guidelines with community nursing staff to determine their effectiveness and acceptability. Method: The proposed research will use mixed methods and participatory action with co-design, underpinned by interprofessional collaboration and education, to develop evidence-based nursing oral care guidelines, training modules and supporting resources, and to evaluate effectiveness among community nursing staff. Conclusion: The oral care guidelines, training resources and evaluation approaches we will co-develop will enable community nursing staff to develop their own, locally-approved evidence-based nursing oral health-care protocols. Thus, this study will be a stepping stone in the promotion of nurse-led oral care and normalising of sustainable oral care practice, with the goal of promoting older adults' oral health and overall health and wellbeing. KEYWORDS Oral care, nursing, care-dependent, older adults, protocols, interprofessional collaboration and education