Abstract
Purpose. Currently, little knowledge exists about the extent to which: 1) nursing home residents perceive their oral health care as being adequate, 2) nursing home residents' perceptions and actual oral health status are congruent, and 3) oral health care outcomes and residents' perceptions of their own oral health care are influenced by levels of physical functioning. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the oral health practices and perceptions of oral health care among cognitively intact nursing home residents.Methods and Materials. Institutional review board approval was obtained, and a modified, one-shot case study design,* a 20-question resident interview, and a 10-category oral health care evaluation were utilized in three encounters with the accepting sample of 10 West Virginia nursing home residents. The interview identified each participant's current and past oral health care practices, perceptions about their current oral practices, and levels of need and functioning in the nursing home. The evaluation assessed the current oral health status of the participants. A licensed West Virgina dentist was present during the evaluations.Results. All participants (N = 10) completed the assessments. Data analyses, including percentages, frequencies, and measures of dispersion, were conducted using the JMP program, version 3.Conclusions. Conclusions that may be drawn from this study include: 1) study participants who are dependent on the nursing home staff for oral health care needs are most likely to receive oral health care, 2) the quality of oral health care performed by the nursing home staff or resident is lower than the current oral health care standards and recommendations, and 3) study participants' barriers for oral health care were commonly influenced by their physical functioning.*A modified, one-shot case study is a descriptive analysis of a particular group of individuals within one setting that reflects moderation, apparent in this study by three discrete visits to the participating nursing home.
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