Nurses’ experiences of providing oral care to hospitalised patients: A qualitative study

Background: Oral care has a critical role in hospital-acquired infection prevention, is part of fundamental nursing care, yet is poorly undertaken in hospital. The study's aim was to understand Australian nurses' perceptions of their role in oral care and their experience providing oral care in hospital, with the focus on enablers and barriers. Methods: A qualitative exploratory descriptive design. Seven registered nurses working in acute adult in-patient hospitals in Australia participated in three semi-structured focus groups in October and November 2023. Data analysis followed thematic analysis procedures. The study is reported using Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research. Results: Three themes were identified: nurses' perceptions of their role in oral care; barriers to providing oral care for hospitalised patients; and enablers to providing oral care for hospitalised patients. Nurses’ experiences revealed expectations for different clinical settings. In the intensive care unit where patients required mechanical ventilation, oral care was inextricably linked to that care. In palliative care or oncology units, oral care was intrinsically linked to holistic care. Reported challenges include time and staffing constraints; limited resources; nurses' limited knowledge about the importance of oral care, and patient-related factors. Opportunities to promote oral care include empowering patients and educating nurses about the importance of oral care to health. Conclusions: Nurses have a pivotal role in oral care and it is important that this is part of patient care in hospital. The findings will inform a comprehensive co-design process to develop an intervention to be examined in a multi-centre randomised control trial.