Shawna Wagers
Small Smiles of Cincinnati Dental Clinic
Background: There are a limited number of trained dental professionals in long-term health care facilities offering quality oral health to geriatric patients.
Aims: The aim of the study was to assess the level of oral health care knowledge retention among nurses working in long-term health care facilities.
Methods: This was a quantitative descriptive survey method that targeted the nurses in a long-term healthcare facility. Participants were given a pre-post survey to assess their retention of oral health care knowledge. They were sampled using a convenient sampling. Quantitative survey methods using SPSS were employed to analyze the survey results.
Results: A total of 28 nurses and nurse aids were included in the study. The findings indicated there was a gap in knowledge and knowledge retention six month post training, which had a statistically significant impact on care delivered (p <.0.001). Factors such as participant’s job title, work shift, years since certification, or number of years employed at Brookside did not impact knowledge retention (Fs < 2.29, ps > .13).
Conclusions: There is a gap in the ability of the nurses working in long-term healthcare facilities to retain oral health knowledge six-months post training. Oral health trainings should be more frequent to improve knowledge retention and improve quality of care.
