COHORT Research Group (Centre for Oral Health Outcomes and Research Translation), School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University, Penrith, Australia.
South Western Sydney Local Health District, Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research, Liverpool, Australia.
Diabetes Educ. 2018 Oct;44(5):454-464. doi: 10.1177/0145721718796055. Epub 2018 Aug 24.
Purpose The purpose of this study was to explore the current perceptions and practices of diabetes educators (DEs) in providing oral health care to people with diabetes. Methods A qualitative study design involving focus groups was used to gather data. Purposive sampling was used to recruit DEs working across 3 metropolitan hospitals in South Western Sydney, Australia. Results Fourteen DEs participated in 3 focus groups. Participants had a mean ± SD age of 44.4 ± 9.2 years and 5.2 ± 5.3 years of work experience in diabetes care. Four main themes were identified: perceptions about oral health care and diabetes current oral health care practices, perceptions on incorporating oral health, and suggested model of care. DEs agreed that promoting oral health in diabetes clinics is important, and they reported seeing patients frequently with oral health problems. However, the majority do not include oral health care in consultations, primarily because they have limited knowledge in this area and have not received any formal oral health education or training. Additional barriers were the lack of referral pathways and resources for patient education. DEs were receptive to incorporating oral health provided that the current barriers were addressed. DEs also suggested a multidisciplinary team care approach to promote oral health. Conclusions Current practices of DEs in oral health care are limited, but they are willing to address oral health. A suggested model of oral health care should include capacity building of diabetes care providers, appropriate dental referral pathways, and a team approach within multidisciplinary diabetes care.
目的 本研究旨在探讨糖尿病教育者（DEs）在为糖尿病患者提供口腔保健方面的当前认知和实践。
方法 采用焦点小组的定性研究设计来收集数据。采用目的抽样法招募在澳大利亚西南悉尼的 3 家大都市医院工作的 DEs。
结果 14 名 DEs 参加了 3 个焦点小组。参与者的平均年龄 ± 标准差为 44.4 ± 9.2 岁，在糖尿病护理方面的工作经验为 5.2 ± 5.3 年。确定了 4 个主要主题：对口腔保健和糖尿病的认知、当前的口腔保健实践、对纳入口腔健康的看法，以及建议的护理模式。DEs 一致认为在糖尿病诊所中促进口腔健康很重要，他们报告经常看到患者有口腔健康问题。然而，大多数人没有将口腔保健纳入咨询，主要是因为他们在这方面的知识有限，并且没有接受过任何正式的口腔健康教育或培训。此外，还存在缺乏患者教育的转介途径和资源的障碍。只要解决了当前的障碍，DEs 就愿意纳入口腔健康。DEs 还建议采用多学科团队护理方法来促进口腔健康。
结论 DEs 在口腔保健方面的当前实践有限，但他们愿意解决口腔健康问题。建议的口腔保健模式应包括糖尿病护理提供者的能力建设、适当的牙科转诊途径以及多学科糖尿病护理中的团队方法。
