TITLE:
Exploring Oral Health Care Awareness among Intensive Care Units Nurses at KAUH
AUTHORS:
Jamilah S. Jastaniah, Rawan A. Almarhoumi, Nadia A. Al-Hazmi
KEYWORDS:
Oral Health, Oral Hygiene, Nurses, ICU
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Stomatology,
Vol.7 No.11,
November
16,
2017
ABSTRACT: The relationship between oral health status and systemic diseases is well established, however, literature shows that there is still lack of awareness among individuals taking care of ICU patients. This work aims to explore if ICU nurses are aware of the relationship between oral health status and systemic diseases, whether they practice oral health care on their patients and if they do, what methods they use. A pre-validated questionnaire was used and distributed to all nurses practicing at KAUH Medical and Surgical ICU. All surveys were voluntary and anonymous. A total of 45 of questionnaires were distributed to ICU nurses with a response rate of 95.6% (Tn = 43). Mean responses indicated that nurses recognize that micro-aspiration of contaminated oropharyngeal secretions is the most likely mechanism of transmission of bacteria into the lung of ventilated patients (mean = 5.6). Accordingly, our results also showed that oral care was perceived as a very high priority for mechanically ventilated patients by 95% of nurses. Mouthwash was the primary material used for oral care by the majority of nurses (n = 32; 74.4%), and chlorhexidine the most used one (n = 42; 98%). The use of manual toothbrushes was very low (n = 8; 23.5%) and not surprisingly, none of the nurses used electric toothbrushes to provide oral care for their ventilated patients. Finally, 86% of the respondents agreed on the need of better supplies and equipment to be provided by the hospital in order to perform better oral care in the ICU. Oral care provided in the ICU is not concordant with the global oral care protocols. Thus, the need for translation of oral care guidelines into clinical practice is of serious importance to improve the quality of care.