Hemma skulle jag aldrig gå och lägga mig uan att borsta tänderna, men det har jag gjort här! : Intervjustudie om munvård på kirurgiska vårdavdelningar

Sammanfattning: Background: Oral care is an important part of nursing. A poor oral hygiene can lead toseveral risks such as malnutrition. Poor oral health also increases the risk of systemicdiseases. Despite this, oral care is a low priority among the nursing staff and is often omittedwhen time and resources are insufficient. Aim: To map how patients in surgical wards experience help and support with oral care andwhich information they receive about oral care. Method: A qualitative descriptive approach with semi-structured interviews with patients(42) on surgical wards. The data was analyzed with conventional content analysis.Fundamentals of Care were used as a theoretical framework. Result: Patients in general expressed a lack of both support and information regarding oralcare. Patients with more complex needs for nursing interventions experienced a greater lackof support and information which led to more negative consequences for their health andwell-being. Patients were often offered aids for oral care but no practical support. Informationwas mainly directed to the problems experienced by patients. Patients who were satisfied withthe amount of support and information they were given were also more satisfied with theirexperience of overall care. Conclusion: Patients experience a lack of support and information regarding oral care whichled to more negative consequences and unnecessary suffering. There is a lack of knowledgeabout oral care among the nursing staff which needs to be addressed through better routinesand the implementation of improvements work based on the latest evidence.