Background and aim: Oral care contributes significantly to the patients health outcome in a critical care unit. Nurses play a vital role in maintaining good oral health. However, there remains a dearth of literature regarding oral care practices among nurses working in a rural critical care unit. In this descriptive cross sectional study, awareness and practice of patients oral care among rural tertiary critical care unit nurses was assessed.
Methodology: After obtaining approval from the Institutional ethics committee, 64 critical care unit nurses, having work experience of atleast 6 months in the critical care unit, were enrolled in this descriptive cross sectional study. A self-structured questionnaire was used to assess the awareness and practice of the nurses. The data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics and results were expressed as percentages.
Result: Of the 64 nurses enrolled in the study, there were no dropouts. It was found that 62 nurses (96.87%) provided oral care to all the critical care unit patients. 60 nurses (93.7%) claimed that a standard oral care protocol has been provided to them. Documentation of the oral care was carried out by 54 (84.37%) nurses. Although 50% of the nurses had been trained to provide oral care, 54 (84.37%) nurses felt the need of fresh training. 60 nurses (93.7%) preferred using toothbrush in conscious patients. Chlorhexidine was the most commonly used solution. Bleeding, extubation and biting were among the few complications that they faced during routine oral care.
Conclusion: Despite working in a rural set up with limited number of resources available, oral care was provided by most of the nurses. Following a standard protocol and documentation of the same, has helped maintain consistency in oral care of all critical care patients.
Key words: Oral health, awareness, critical care, nursing, rural
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