Oral health assessment in domiciliary care service planning of older people.

Abstract

The aim was to examine importance and consideration of oral health-related issues (OHRIs) during service planning by the case managers (CMs). 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%, P<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. 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.