Determination of Oral Health Assessment and Oral Care Knowledge Levels of Intensive Care Nurses

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate intensive care nurses’ assessment practices regarding patients’ oral health and to determine their level of knowledge related to oral care. Method: This descriptive study was conducted among nurses working in an adult intensive care unit of a hospital. The study population consisted of 143 nurses, and 124 nurses were reached. Data were collected using a data collection tool consisting of three sections. Face-to-face interviews were conducted by the researchers in the clinical units. Results: The mean age of the participants was 34.69±6.60 years, and 71% were female. Of the nurses, 81.6% reported that they wanted to receive training on oral health, while 83.1% stated that they did not use any guideline or scale for oral health assessment. The mean total score obtained from the Oral Health Knowledge Level Form was 12.53±2.41. Conclusion: The findings indicated that nurses’ mean oral health knowledge score was above the overall average. Additionally, this score varied according to factors such as years of professional experience and possession of certification. It is recommended that additional training programs be organized to enhance nurses’ oral health literacy.

Keywords

• Oral health
• nursing care
• intensive care

Yoğun Bakım Hemşirelerinin Ağız Sağlığı Değerlendirme ve Ağız Bakımı Bilgi Düzeylerinin Belirlenmesi

Öz

Amaç: Bu araştırma yoğun bakım hemşirelerinin, hastaların ağız sağlığını değerlendirmesi ve ağız bakımı bilgi düzeylerinin belirlenmesi amacıyla yapılmıştır. Yöntem: Araştırma tanımlayıcı tiptedir. Araştırmanın evrenini bir hastanenin erişkin yoğun bakım ünitesinde çalışan 143 hemşire oluşturmaktadır. Araştırmada evrenin tamamına ulaşılması hedeflenmiş ve 124 hemşireye ulaşılmıştır. Veri toplama aracı üç bölümden oluşmaktadır. Veriler, araştırmacılar tarafından birimlere gidilerek yüz yüze görüşme yöntemiyle toplanmıştır. Bulgular: Katılımcıların yaş ortalaması 34,69±6,60 olup %71’i kadın olarak belirlenmiştir. Hemşirelerin %81,6’sı ağız sağlığı ile ilgili eğitim almak istediklerini ve %83,1’i ağız sağlığı değerlendirmesinde herhangi bir rehber/ölçek kullanmadıklarını ifade etmişlerdir. Hemşirelerin Ağız Sağlığı Bilgi Düzeyi Form’undan aldıkları toplam puan ortalaması 12,53±2,41 saptanmıştır. Sonuç: Hemşirelerin Ağız Sağlığı Bilgi Düzeyi Formu’ndan aldıkları puan ortalamasının, genel ortalamanın üzerinde olduğu saptanmıştır. Ayrıca, bu puan ortalamasının deneyim yılı ve sertifika sahibi olma gibi değişkenlere göre farklılık gösterdiği belirlenmiştir. Hemşirelerin ağız sağlığı okuryazarlığını geliştirmek amacıyla daha fazla eğitim programı düzenlenmesi önerilmektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Ağız sağlığı
• hemşirelik bakımı
• yoğun bakım

Kaynakça

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