Oral Health Related Knowledge, Practices and Opinions of Caregivers at the Biggest Care Home for People with Disability in Turkey

• Published in: Meandros medical and dental journal 2021-01, Vol.22 (1), p.94-101
• Main Authors: Ballikaya, Elif, Ergin, Esra, Turgut, Melek Dilek, Güçiz Doğan, Bahar, Uzamış Tekçiçek, Meryem
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Tıp
• ISSN: 2149-9063; 2149-9063
• DOI: 10.4274/meandros.galenos.2021.15870

Objective: People with disability have worse oral health than the healthy ones usually because of their inability to perform good daily oral hygiene, lack of knowledge of their caregivers and inadequate health policies. This study aimed to evaluate the oral health-related knowledge, practices and opinions of a group of caregivers in the biggest care home in Turkey. Materials and Methods: A total of 170 caregivers were requested to complete a questionnaire prior to receiving training regarding oral health. The chi-square test was used to evaluate the statistical significance. Results: Among the 322 residents with disability, 255 (79.2%) had mental disability and 64 (19.9%) had physical disability. Of the caregivers, 147 volunteered to participate (response rate 86.5%). Their mean age was 41.4 years. More than half of the caregivers (n=98, 66.6%) had been working for 5 to 14 years. Most of them (81.6%) reported that they performed oral hygiene procedures for 228 residents, and 97 (44.1%) reported that they brushed the teeth of residents three times per day. However, 102 caregivers reported that they did not know about the significance of dental plaque. Nearly two-thirds of the caregivers (n=95, 64.6%) had not previously received any education regarding oral care and 98 declared that they need training, of whom 74 requested that it should be practical. Female caregivers needed oral care training more than male caregivers. Although not statistically significant, caregivers who have been working for ≤5 years and those with at least a high school education reported more need for oral care training. The caregivers working ≤5 years had the least level of previous education on oral care. Conclusion: The caregivers need comprehensive training on oral health in the biggest care home in Turkey to be able to provide adequate oral health care for the disabled residents.