Effectiveness of oral health education in enhancing oral care knowledge,attitudesand behaviors for family caregivers of persons with dementia

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundDue to the loss of cognitive function and memory, persons with dementia gradually lose their self‐care and social skills, and the weakening of their oral care ability can easily lead to periodontal disease, dry mouth, and root caries. Studies have shown that oral health maintenance can help prevent dementia and delay functional deterioration. Therefore, it is important to provide oral hygiene guidance to family caregivers to improve the quality of oral health care for persons with dementia.Oral care questionnaires and oral health assessment scales were used to assess the knowledge, attitude and behavior of family caregivers towards oral care for the person with dementia. Based on the assessment results, an oral health education program was designed, including: 1. immediate oral care health education at the outpatient clinic; 2. mailing of dementia oral care health education leaflets; and 3. individual health education and discussion by telephone one week after mailing. A post‐test was conducted one week after the intervention to evaluate the effectiveness of the program.ResultsFamily caregivers' oral care knowledge correctness increased from 49% to 88.9%, attitude correctness increased from 29% to 71.45%, and behavior correctness increased from 84% to 100%.ConclusionThe results showed that a multicomponent oral health education program could improve the oral care knowledge, attitude, and behavior for family caregivers of persons with dementia. In particular, the use of telephone health education and assessment during the COVID‐19 epidemic may provide a reference.