Department of Oral Health Sciences, Special Needs in Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, C. Heymanslaan 10, 9000, Ghent, Belgium.
Department of Oral Health Sciences, Population Studies in Oral Health, KU Leuven, Kapucijnenvoer 7, 3000, Leuven, Belgium.
Clin Oral Investig. 2020 Jun;24(6):2061-2070. doi: 10.1007/s00784-019-03071-z. Epub 2019 Sep 4.
To assess the perception of oral health and oral care needs, barriers and current practices as perceived by managers and caregivers in organizations for people with disabilities in Flanders.
Two questionnaires were developed, one for managers and one for caregivers. The questionnaires were distributed in all 570 organizations for people with disabilities in Flanders. The survey was carried out in February 2018.
Sixty-five managers completed the questionnaire and 63 of them could be linked to 57 unique organizations (10% of the contacted organizations). Managers perceived oral health to be better (P = 0.019) and mentioned less oral health needs (P = 0.049), when collaboration with a dentist was reported. When an oral health policy had been established in their organization, oral health was also perceived to be better (P = 0.048). The responses of 91 caregivers were included for analysis and 87 of them could be linked to 39 unique organizations (7% of contacted organizations). Seventy percent and 75% of the caregivers mentioned to have enough/comprehensive theoretical knowledge and practical skills, respectively, and 46% were interested in receiving oral health education. Most interest was shown in practical education and education customized to clients' needs. In organizations with an oral health project, more caregivers indicated that the organization was open to oral health questions than in organizations without such a project (97% compared with 81%; P = 0.045). When there was a collaboration with a dentist, the organization was more open to caregivers' questions (96% compared with 72%; P = 0.004) and a clear contact point was more readily available (81% compared with 48%; P = 0.004). Furthermore, caregivers were more interested to receive oral health education (P = 0.023) and mentioned to be more aware of the oral health of their clients (P = 0.015). About 23% and 30% of the caregivers indicated that guidelines were used in their organization for cleaning natural teeth and prostheses, respectively.
Despite the low response rate to the survey and reaching the management and caregivers of only 10% and 7% of the organizations respectively, this study indicates relevant issues to be incorporated when formulating recommendations for oral health promotion in people with disabilities in Flanders.
The results of this survey could affect the development of strategies and interventions to ameliorate the oral health of people with disabilities.
评估弗拉芒地区残疾人组织的管理人员和护理人员对口腔健康和口腔护理需求、障碍和当前做法的看法。
编制了两份问卷，一份针对管理人员，一份针对护理人员。调查问卷分发给了弗拉芒地区的所有 570 家残疾人组织。调查于 2018 年 2 月进行。
65 名管理人员完成了问卷，其中 63 名可与 57 个独特组织（联系组织的 10%）相关联。当报告与牙医合作时，管理人员认为口腔健康状况更好（P=0.019），口腔健康需求更少（P=0.049）。当他们的组织制定了口腔健康政策时，口腔健康也被认为更好（P=0.048）。共纳入 91 名护理人员的 91 份回复进行分析，其中 87 名可与 39 个独特组织（联系组织的 7%）相关联。70%和 75%的护理人员表示他们具有足够/全面的理论知识和实践技能，46%的人有兴趣接受口腔健康教育。大多数人对实践教育和针对客户需求的定制教育表现出兴趣。在有口腔健康项目的组织中，更多的护理人员表示组织愿意回答口腔健康问题，而在没有此类项目的组织中，这一比例为 81%（P=0.045）。当与牙医合作时，组织对护理人员的问题更加开放（96%对比 72%；P=0.004），也更容易获得明确的联系人（81%对比 48%；P=0.004）。此外，护理人员更有兴趣接受口腔健康教育（P=0.023），并表示更了解客户的口腔健康状况（P=0.015）。约 23%和 30%的护理人员表示，他们的组织在清洁天然牙齿和义齿方面分别使用了指南。
尽管调查的回应率较低，仅联系到组织的管理人员和护理人员的 10%和 7%，但本研究表明，在为弗拉芒地区残疾人制定口腔健康促进建议时，应考虑到这些相关问题。
本调查结果可能会影响制定改善残疾人口腔健康的策略和干预措施。
