Nurses' knowledge regarding oral health among the elderly in Ajman, UAE

ABSTRACT

The study intended to assess the knowledge of nurses regarding oral health among the elderly. This cross sectional study was conducted over a period of six months. Registered nurses in Ajman, UAE [was the] target population. Nurses working in the Gulf Medical College Hospital and Research Centre, Ajman, UAE [GMCHRC] were invited to participate in this study. A self-administered and validated questionnaire was used. A scoring system was used to evaluate the knowledge of the nurses in different domains and a knowledge score <60% was considered inadequate. The data was analyzed using the SPSS software, version 18. The association between years of clinical experience, level of education and nurses' knowledge in different domains were assessed. Adequacy of knowledge in different domains was also tested. The study involved 115 participants [10 males [8.7%] and 105[91.3%] females]. Approximately 30% of the nurses had Bachelor degree and 70% of them had >/=5 year's experience. More than one third of the nurses are unaware about the need to floss and the importance of using mouthwash for elderly. The study reveals lack of knowledge in high proportion of nurses with regard to oral conditions commonly seen in elderly. Years of experience and level of education are not significantly associated with knowledge of nurses in this domain. Inadequate knowledge related to the indicators of healthy mouth in elderly was noticed in 49.6% of the nurses. Neither level of education, nor years of clinical experience had significant association with knowledge pertaining to most of the items included in these domains. More than 30% of the nurses were not aware of necessary oral-care products/ agents for elderly who are admitted in the hospital. Inadequate knowledge pertaining to oral health in the elderly is noticed among a high proportion of studied nurses