Geriatric oral health care content and barriers to its incorporation in undergraduate nursing curricula: New Zealand survey

Introduction: An increasingly older population demands major remodeling of our health care system. Older adults are most likely to be affected by the oral-systemic connection due to their impairment in functional capacity and reduced ability to undertake routine oral care. An economic way to improve...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Veerasamy, A., Lyons, K., Crabtree, I., Brunton, Paul
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: 2023
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/94910
_version_ 1848765943539302400
author Veerasamy, A.
Lyons, K.
Crabtree, I.
Brunton, Paul
author_facet Veerasamy, A.
Lyons, K.
Crabtree, I.
Brunton, Paul
author_sort Veerasamy, A.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Introduction: An increasingly older population demands major remodeling of our health care system. Older adults are most likely to be affected by the oral-systemic connection due to their impairment in functional capacity and reduced ability to undertake routine oral care. An economic way to improve oral health outcomes in older populations is by involving nurses and caregivers in ensuring the maintenance of oral health for older adults. This study aimed to investigate the present educational content relevant to the oral health of older adults, the oral-systemic connection, and assessment methods in New Zealand nursing education. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among nursing educators to understand the extent of oral health care education. Quantitative descriptive data were analyzed using SPSS software and qualitative data were analyzed descriptively and presented as themes. Results: The results indicated that the majority of oral health topics were already incorporated into nursing education, however most important topics such as risk factors associated with dental caries, periodontal health, and risk factors are not taught in almost 40% of the schools. The four themes identified in qualitative analyses are “no barrier”, “lack of expertise”, “no space for more content” and oral health content “already included”. Conclusion: Educators reported that oral health topics are already incorporated into New Zealand undergraduate nursing curricula. However, the quantity and quality of oral health content relevant to older adults need to be improved and updated to suit the current oral health care needs of the growing older population.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T11:43:17Z
format Journal Article
id curtin-20.500.11937-94910
institution Curtin University Malaysia
institution_category Local University
language eng
last_indexed 2025-11-14T11:43:17Z
publishDate 2023
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling curtin-20.500.11937-949102024-04-30T04:28:43Z Geriatric oral health care content and barriers to its incorporation in undergraduate nursing curricula: New Zealand survey Veerasamy, A. Lyons, K. Crabtree, I. Brunton, Paul geriatric oral health oral health care in nursing oral health education oral health in long-term care oral-systemic connection Humans Aged Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate Oral Health New Zealand Cross-Sectional Studies Dental Caries Students, Nursing Curriculum Delivery of Health Care Geriatric Nursing Humans Dental Caries Cross-Sectional Studies Geriatric Nursing Curriculum Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate Students, Nursing Aged Oral Health Delivery of Health Care New Zealand Introduction: An increasingly older population demands major remodeling of our health care system. Older adults are most likely to be affected by the oral-systemic connection due to their impairment in functional capacity and reduced ability to undertake routine oral care. An economic way to improve oral health outcomes in older populations is by involving nurses and caregivers in ensuring the maintenance of oral health for older adults. This study aimed to investigate the present educational content relevant to the oral health of older adults, the oral-systemic connection, and assessment methods in New Zealand nursing education. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among nursing educators to understand the extent of oral health care education. Quantitative descriptive data were analyzed using SPSS software and qualitative data were analyzed descriptively and presented as themes. Results: The results indicated that the majority of oral health topics were already incorporated into nursing education, however most important topics such as risk factors associated with dental caries, periodontal health, and risk factors are not taught in almost 40% of the schools. The four themes identified in qualitative analyses are “no barrier”, “lack of expertise”, “no space for more content” and oral health content “already included”. Conclusion: Educators reported that oral health topics are already incorporated into New Zealand undergraduate nursing curricula. However, the quantity and quality of oral health content relevant to older adults need to be improved and updated to suit the current oral health care needs of the growing older population. 2023 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/94910 10.1002/jdd.13088 eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ fulltext
spellingShingle geriatric oral health
oral health care in nursing
oral health education
oral health in long-term care
oral-systemic connection
Humans
Aged
Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate
Oral Health
New Zealand
Cross-Sectional Studies
Dental Caries
Students, Nursing
Curriculum
Delivery of Health Care
Geriatric Nursing
Humans
Dental Caries
Cross-Sectional Studies
Geriatric Nursing
Curriculum
Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate
Students, Nursing
Aged
Oral Health
Delivery of Health Care
New Zealand
Veerasamy, A.
Lyons, K.
Crabtree, I.
Brunton, Paul
Geriatric oral health care content and barriers to its incorporation in undergraduate nursing curricula: New Zealand survey
title Geriatric oral health care content and barriers to its incorporation in undergraduate nursing curricula: New Zealand survey
title_full Geriatric oral health care content and barriers to its incorporation in undergraduate nursing curricula: New Zealand survey
title_fullStr Geriatric oral health care content and barriers to its incorporation in undergraduate nursing curricula: New Zealand survey
title_full_unstemmed Geriatric oral health care content and barriers to its incorporation in undergraduate nursing curricula: New Zealand survey
title_short Geriatric oral health care content and barriers to its incorporation in undergraduate nursing curricula: New Zealand survey
title_sort geriatric oral health care content and barriers to its incorporation in undergraduate nursing curricula: new zealand survey
topic geriatric oral health
oral health care in nursing
oral health education
oral health in long-term care
oral-systemic connection
Humans
Aged
Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate
Oral Health
New Zealand
Cross-Sectional Studies
Dental Caries
Students, Nursing
Curriculum
Delivery of Health Care
Geriatric Nursing
Humans
Dental Caries
Cross-Sectional Studies
Geriatric Nursing
Curriculum
Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate
Students, Nursing
Aged
Oral Health
Delivery of Health Care
New Zealand
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/94910