TY - JOUR
T1 - Collaborating for oral health in support of vulnerable older people
T2 - Co-production of oral health training in care homes
AU - Patel, Rakhee
AU - Robertson, Claire
AU - Gallagher, Jennifer E.
PY - 2019/3/1
Y1 - 2019/3/1
N2 - Background In recent years, the value of co-production has become embedded in the social care agenda. Care home residents are at significantly higher risk of dental diseases and often rely on the care team for support. It is therefore vital that staff are trained and confident in delivering evidence based oral care to their clients. Methods Three London care homes co-produced a pilot oral health training programme, informed by in-depth interviews and group discussions. The initiative was evaluated using pre/post-questionnaires of carers and semi-structured interviews of managers and the dental teams. Results Two care homes were available for delivery of the programme, which resulted in training of 64% (n = 87) of care staff. The training programme involved videos and resources and was delivered flexibly with the support of an oral health educator and a dental therapist. There was an improvement in knowledge and self-reported confidence post-training; however, only 54% (n = 45) completed the post-training questionnaire. Conclusions This study suggests that co-production of an oral care training package for care home staff, is possible and welcome, but challenging in this complex and changing environment. Further work is needed to explore the feasibility, sustainability and impact of doing so.
AB - Background In recent years, the value of co-production has become embedded in the social care agenda. Care home residents are at significantly higher risk of dental diseases and often rely on the care team for support. It is therefore vital that staff are trained and confident in delivering evidence based oral care to their clients. Methods Three London care homes co-produced a pilot oral health training programme, informed by in-depth interviews and group discussions. The initiative was evaluated using pre/post-questionnaires of carers and semi-structured interviews of managers and the dental teams. Results Two care homes were available for delivery of the programme, which resulted in training of 64% (n = 87) of care staff. The training programme involved videos and resources and was delivered flexibly with the support of an oral health educator and a dental therapist. There was an improvement in knowledge and self-reported confidence post-training; however, only 54% (n = 45) completed the post-training questionnaire. Conclusions This study suggests that co-production of an oral care training package for care home staff, is possible and welcome, but challenging in this complex and changing environment. Further work is needed to explore the feasibility, sustainability and impact of doing so.
KW - Care homes
KW - Co-production
KW - Evaluation
KW - Older people
KW - Oral care
KW - Training
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85064808179&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/pubmed/fdx162
DO - 10.1093/pubmed/fdx162
M3 - Article
C2 - 29186499
AN - SCOPUS:85064808179
SN - 1741-3842
VL - 41
SP - 164
EP - 169
JO - Journal of Public Health (United Kingdom)
JF - Journal of Public Health (United Kingdom)
IS - 1
ER -
