Community-based visiting healthcare personnels’ capacity in elderly oral health care and the effectiveness of group oral health education: a pilot study

Abstract

Objectives: This study is an effectiveness evaluation study of an oral health education program conducted on 30 visiting nurses who participated in the "CHAT-DONG" project in a district of Seoul, Korea. The primary objective of this study is to obtain basic data for the development of an oral healthcare education program for visiting nurses. Methods: To evaluate the effectiveness of the educational program comprising lecture and small group practice training, oral health knowledge, beliefs, awareness, self-efficacy, and oral health status assessment capabilities were assessed before and after the training, using Google online surveys. Finally, data from 22 participants were used for analysis. Results: Overall oral health knowledge improved after the training, however, specific oral disease knowledge was low. There were no significant changes in oral health beliefs and awareness, but there was a significant increase in self-efficacy. The ability to assess oral health status improved a little, however, the ability to express specific oral health conditions was low. This may be owing to the limitations of a one-time training and the inexperience and unfamiliarity of the participants. The participating nurses were highly satisfied with the training program and expressed a strong desire for regular and ongoing training. Conclusions: This study highlights the necessity for systematic and sustained training programs for healthcare personnel, including visiting nurses, to provide effective oral healthcare to older adults. Furthermore, the development of such training programs should consider the demographic characteristics of the target population and their level of prior knowledge and experience when designing, implementing, and evaluating training programs.