Oral health experiences and needs among young adults after a first‐episode psychosis : a phenomenological study

Abstract

Introduction Oral health affects quality of life, self-esteem, physical health and daily functioning. Treatment guidelines on patients after first episode psychosis (FEP) recommend interventions, but clinical interventions are lacking. No research on the experiences of young adults' oral health after FEP has been conducted. Aims This study aimed to explore the lived experiences and needs of patients after FEP with regard to their oral health. Design and Methods Single-centre phenomenological study using open interviews (N = 30). Data were analysed using the Colaizzi method. Results Patients reported oral health problems since their FEP. The problems that patients encountered were dental care in general (e.g., a lack of awareness), risk factors (e.g., substance use, poor diet and financial problems), overall experiences with dentists/dental hygienists and the gap between needs and interventions. Discussion There is a lack of awareness among patients after FEP about oral health while patients are not able to adequately attend to their oral health and patients have high burden on this topic. Implications for mental health nursing To bridge the gap between patients' needs regarding oral health, the awareness of patients and mental health professionals should be heightened, and patients should be better supported by mental health professionals.

Improving oral health in people with severe mental illness (SMI): A systematic review

“…An important aspect of this would be to include engagement with patient groups. Although some important qualitative research has been conducted in this area [ 87 , 88 ], further work could be done to understand other aspects of interventions in relation to acceptability and how well approaches would address existing barriers to accessing dental care and maintaining good oral health.…”

Oral Health Interventions in Patients with a Mental Health Disorder: A Scoping Review with Critical Appraisal of the Literature

“…To care for and motivate patients regarding their oral health is imperative, and part of mental health nurses' tasks in their daily contact with patients with SMI. Recent research shows that patients after a first episode psychosis or SMI are not always able to take care of their oral health, and this should be included in the daily work of nurses [13]. Mental health nurses do not apply motivational and supportive interventions concerning patients' oral health and mental health nurses were scarcely involved in actively promoting better oral health [28].…”

“…Nearly 20% of the population worldwide suffers from a mental health disorder [9,10], and this outlines the importance of oral health in patients diagnosed with a mental health disorder [11] who are exposed to more oral health risk factors [3,[11][12][13][14].…”

“…Considering the poor oral health, increased risk factors, the high burden of poor oral health [11][12][13]26,31] and the lack of interventions in existing guidelines, it is important to explore which oral health interventions are available for our patient population in existing research. This scoping review will have a broader "scope" with correspondingly less restrictive inclusion criteria.…”

Response to email of editor‐in‐chief: JPM‐19‐0163 titled Oral health experiences and needs amongst young adults after a first episode psychosis

“…Response to email of editor-in-chief: JPM-19-0163 titled Oral health experiences and needs amongst young adults after a first episode psychosis Dear Editor, In this short contribution, we respond to the questions asked by a reader about our paper: "Oral health experiences and needs among young adults after a first-episode psychosis: a phenomenological study" (Kuipers, Castelein, Malda, Kronenberg, & Boonstra, 2018).…”