Date of Award

2013

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Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS) in Dental Hygiene

Department

Dental Hygiene

Abstract

"This research study is based on an educational module presented to nursing home staff addressing assessment criteria of the Minimum Data Set 3.0 (MDS) dental section, a tool used by staff to evaluate residents' overall health. Relationships were tested between educating nursing home staff on the dental section and accurate completion of the MDS; between educating staff on correct oral assessment and resulting subsequent referrals for dental treatment; and between dental education and staff perceptions regarding the provision of oral assessment and home care. MDS assessments for nursing home residents (N=176) were collected pre- and post-implementation of the educational module, showing an increase in oral conditions identified by nursing home staff but a decrease in total assessments completed. Referral rates were collected and statistically significant difference was found using McNemar's test (p=.0018) between the pre- implementation referral rate of 16% and post-implementation referral rate of 30%. Nursing home staff were given pre-implementation and post-implementation Likert surveys. Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test found the education module made them feel more comfortable performing oral assessments (p =.0009) and referring for subsequent dental treatment (p=.0313). These results suggest educating nursing home staff on identification of oral conditions and completing the MDS 3.0 dental section increases their knowledge and perceptions in providing oral assessments. Additionally, referrals to an oral health care provider may increase. Further longitudinal studies may determine best practices for educating nursing home staff to increase their ability to assess the oral cavity and provide appropriate measures to improve oral health of nursing home residents"--Document.

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