Al Rababah Deyaaldeen Mohammad, Nassani Mohammad Zakaria, Baker Omar Ghazi, Alhelih Eyad M, Almomani Suzan Ali, Rastam Samer
Department of Nursing Sciences, AlFarabi College for Dentistry and Nursing, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Prosthetic Dental Sciences, AlFarabi College for Dentistry and Nursing, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
J Educ Health Promot. 2018 Nov 27;7:149. doi: 10.4103/jehp.jehp_88_18. eCollection 2018.
Oral care of hospitalized patients is an important measure that aims to maintain and promote the health of oral and dental tissues. This study aimed to investigate nurses' attitudes and practices regarding oral care of hospitalized patients in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
A cross-sectional, descriptive design was implemented. The research instrument was a self-administered questionnaire that was designed and distributed among 300 nurses working at five hospitals located in Riyadh.
Totally, 226 questionnaires were completed (response rate: 75%). Almost all participants (97.8%) think that providing oral hygiene is an important element of patient care and 90.7% think that nurses need to update their oral care knowledge and skills. Only 46% of the nurses reported the presence of a policy for oral care at their hospital unit and 55.3% indicated that patients are assessed for oral health at their department. About 56.2% of participants did not receive training on oral assessment and provision of oral care and a few nurses (2%) received training on oral care at their current job place. A large proportion of nurses (44%) expressed a desire to undergo training on oral care of hospitalized patients. Gender, nationality, and previous training were the most important predicators of a positive attitude.
The outcome of this study indicates a positive attitude among the surveyed nurses toward provision of oral care for hospitalized patients. Current oral care practice in Saudi hospitals is suboptimal. Saudi hospitals need to pay more efforts to train their nursing staff and issue clear policies and guidelines regarding oral care of hospitalized patients.
住院患者的口腔护理是一项旨在维护和促进口腔及牙齿组织健康的重要措施。本研究旨在调查沙特阿拉伯利雅得地区护士对住院患者口腔护理的态度和实践情况。
采用横断面描述性设计。研究工具为一份自填式问卷，该问卷设计并分发给利雅得五家医院的300名护士。
共完成226份问卷（回复率：75%）。几乎所有参与者（97.8%）认为提供口腔卫生护理是患者护理的重要组成部分，90.7%的人认为护士需要更新口腔护理知识和技能。只有46%的护士报告其所在医院科室有口腔护理政策，55.3%的人表示科室会对患者进行口腔健康评估。约56.2%的参与者未接受过口腔评估和口腔护理培训，少数护士（2%）在目前工作岗位接受过口腔护理培训。很大一部分护士（44%）表示希望接受住院患者口腔护理培训。性别、国籍和以前的培训是积极态度的最重要预测因素。
本研究结果表明，接受调查的护士对为住院患者提供口腔护理持积极态度。沙特医院目前的口腔护理实践并不理想。沙特医院需要加大力度培训护理人员，并发布关于住院患者口腔护理的明确政策和指南。
