Assessment of the Impact of Oral Health Training for Caregivers on the Oral Health-related Quality of Life of Residents in Nursing Homes

Summary

With the ageing of the French population, the number of elderly people loosing their autonomy is increasing, leading to a growing need for care in residential establishments for dependent elderly people . For multiple reasons, the oral and dental health of the elderly is often when they're admitted to a nursing home (financiary issues, loss of mobility, cognitive impairement, etc.). It can continue to deteriorate after admission du to communication difficulties between care team and dentists. As these various constraints can limit the monitoring and management of the consequences of oral senescence, it is easy to understand the oral health deterioration in nursing home residents.

This worsening in oral health is all the more worrying because residents rarely express the need for care, until emergency. This lack of complaints calls for even greater vigilance. While general hygiene care is well carried out, the majority of nursing staff are uncomfortable with oral hygiene care, which sometimes end up neglected or insufficient. Among the reasons that could explain this lack of care, nursing homes staff often speak of a reluctance to carry them out, a lack of knowledge, or even a fear of investing in this oral sphere.

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate that nursing staff (nurse, orderlies, medical-psychological assistants and hospital service agents) oral health formation will help the development of knowledge and skills, and will improve the quality of life related to oral health of dependant people, while decreasing nursing staff anxiety levels in regards to dental care.

To this end, before and 6 months after training in oral hygiene care for carers, the quality of life in relation to the oral health of residents will be assessed using the GOHAI questionnaire. Caregivers' anxiety levels will be assessed using the STAI-Y questionnaire. At the end of the training, two caregivers will be designated as oral health referents in each nursing home and a support unit will be set up. Supporting documents to help make the decision to call the dentist and care protocols left on site will complete this system.

Conditions

• Oral Health Training

Interventions

OTHER

Caregivers training in oral health in nursing homes

Training for healthcare workers on oral hygiene and health in nursing homes will be organised around two modules. Modules will aim to improve/update the specific knowledge and skills required to provide oral care to dependent residents in order to reduce the level of anxiety that may be associated with it. To ensure that all caregivers have acquired the training content, an assessment will be carried out at the end of each module in the form of a quiz. At the end of this training course, a decision tree on 'Should I call the dentist?', summary sheets of the training course and protocol sheets will be made available in the various nursing homes to help maintain the knowledge acquired during the training and guide caregivers in organizing the care pathway.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University Hospital, Tours

  collaborator OTHER

• UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL, ORLEANS

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Centre Hospitalier Jacques Cœur - Bourges

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Nantes University Hospital

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

NA

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

NONE

Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age

65 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2026-03-06

Primary Completion

2027-10-15

Completion

2027-10-15

Countries

• France

Study Locations