Nursing Students' Perspectives Toward Providing Oral Health Care for Older People

Introduction: Oral care for older adults in residential homes and long-term hospital care has been largely ignored by health care professionals. The purpose of this study was to understand the perspectives of nursing students' on incorporating oral health care topics in the nursing curricula. Methods: As a part of a broader cross-sectional quantitative study, we asked nursing students their opinions on incorporating an oral health care curriculum in their nursing programme. This resulted in a total of 148 responses, representing ~15% of New Zealand's nursing graduates and exceeding the anticipated survey response rate of 10%. The respondents were from 61% of nursing schools across the country. Thematic coding was used to analyze and report on the participants' responses. Results: The nursing students thought oral health care education is overlooked in the nursing curriculum. Nursing students believed health professionals should be accountable for their patients' oral health. Conclusion: Nursing students do not feel confident providing oral care for their patients. However, they recognize their responsibility and understand the need to provide oral health care as part of long-term care for older adults.