Haresaku S, Mariño R, Naito T, Morgan M V
Department of Preventive and Public Health Dentistry, Fukuoka Dental College, Fukuoka, Japan.
Oral Health Cooperative Research Centre, Melbourne Dental School, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Vic., Australia.
Eur J Dent Educ. 2016 Aug;20(3):167-73. doi: 10.1111/eje.12157. Epub 2015 Jun 17.
The term 'oral health care for older adults' has various interpretations, and its meaning is not clear among dental school academic staff. Additionally, there are no theoretical or practical stand-alone courses on oral health care for older adults in Japanese dental schools. To improve oral health care education, we investigated the opinions and attitudes toward oral health care education for older adults among academic staff in dental schools. Data were collected in seven dental schools from May to September 2013 via an online questionnaire survey. Five-hundred-fifty-eight academics (428 male, 130 female) participated (response rate 57%). The average number of years since they had completed a university degree was 20.2 (SD 10.2) years. The majority (Over 90%) of participants perceived that oral health care should be provided in nursing facilities, hospitals, and at home. Its treatments and instructions should include, not only methods of keeping good oral hygiene, but also improvement of oral function such as swallowing training and salivary glands massage. The majority (84.2%) suggested oral health care education should be combined as a one-credit, stand-alone course. Findings indicate that dental academics have an understanding the need for a course in oral health care for older adults. Participants supported the need for further development of education in oral health care for older adults' in Japan, as a separate course on its own right. However there were some different views about content by teaching field. The need for a national core program for teaching oral health care education was suggested.
“老年人口腔保健”这一术语有多种解释，在牙科学院的学术人员中其含义并不明确。此外，日本的牙科学院没有关于老年人口腔保健的理论或实践独立课程。为了改善口腔保健教育，我们调查了牙科学院学术人员对老年人口腔保健教育的意见和态度。2013年5月至9月，通过在线问卷调查在七所牙科学院收集了数据。558名学者（428名男性，130名女性）参与了调查（回复率57%）。他们获得大学学位后的平均年数为20.2年（标准差10.2年）。大多数（超过90%）参与者认为应在护理机构、医院和家中提供口腔保健。其治疗和指导不仅应包括保持良好口腔卫生的方法，还应包括吞咽训练和唾液腺按摩等口腔功能的改善。大多数（84.2%）建议将口腔保健教育作为一门1学分的独立课程。研究结果表明，牙科专业人员了解开设老年人口腔保健课程的必要性。参与者支持在日本进一步发展老年人口腔保健教育，将其作为一门独立的课程。然而，不同教学领域对课程内容存在一些不同看法。有人建议制定全国性的口腔保健教育核心教学计划。
