Oral health assessment in domiciliary care service planning of older people

Abstract

<div><h3>Objectives</h3><p>The aim was to examine importance and consideration of oral health‐related issues (OHRIs) during service planning by the case managers (CMs).</p></div><div><h3>Methods and results</h3><p>The study was conducted in a major Finnish city. All 25 CMs, supervising over 450 domiciliary care employees who are caring for 4600 domiciliary care clients, received a multiple‐choice questionnaire with additional open‐ended questions. CMs were dichotomized by age and educational background. Differences were compared with the chi‐square test and Fisher´s exact test. Response rate was 88%. All CMs considered OHRIs important. However, OHRIs were not routinely considered during service planning, especially by the CMs with a social service than health background (0% vs 30%, <i>P</i> < 0, 0.056). OHRIs were considered never or seldom by 73% of the CMs. OHRIs were mostly considered after evaluating the overall need for domiciliary care. A lack of guidelines was reported by 45% of the CMs. Of the CMs, 41% could use their knowledge for paying attention to OHRIs. All CMs wished for better routines for paying attention to OHRIs.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><p>OHRIs are not routinely considered in service planning. This study indicated a need for structured guidelines and further education for assess the need for oral home care assistance.</p></div>