Study design and method
The importance of oral health care needs to be translated into clinical nursing practice through research and best practice guidelines. The purpose of this study was to be determine level of oral health care provided to hospitalized children at one children’s hospital. Specific research questions included; (1) what type and frequency of oral care activities do pediatric nurses engage in while caring for hospitalized children? (2) Do nurses engage in collaborative care with an affiliated dental school and dental resident? (3) What are primary caretaker’s perceptions of the oral care received by their hospitalized children? (4) how often are hospitalized children’s teeth brushed and by whom? (5) Is there a difference in the frequency of tooth brushing at home versus in the hospital?
The descriptive, non experimental study was preapproved by the hospital’s nursing research council and the university’s review board for the protection of human subject. An exempt application was submitted and approved, as data were not obtained directly from hospitalized children or their health record.
The data for this study were collected through surveys from two populations at a children’s hospital within an academic medical center with an affiliate dental school in the southern United State. Data collection occurred over a 4-week period from March 16 through April 16, 2010. Convenience sample of pediatric RNs working either full- or part time on two adjacent general medical-surgical units made up the first sample (N = 49). The second convenience sample comprised primary caretaker of children, aged 2 through 12 year in the two unit, who had been hospitalized for at least 24 hours (N = 59). Primary caretaker were defined as an adult with whom the child’s lives, whether a parent grandparent, or legal guardian. No exclusion were made based on the medical diagnoses of the children. Primary caretaker who could not read and understand English were included from the study/ due to the hardship of providing interpreters.
The surveys developed by the researcher, were reviewed by psychometriccian and local experts in the field to the construction and wording of bolt surveys based on reviewer feedback. Each surveys was subsequently field tested with nurses or parent for clarity and timing. Potential primary caretakers meeting study criteria were indentify by the parent care manager of nursing team leader and all were approached during nursing round.