Solutions to Enhance Oral Care Among Hospitalised Patients: A Participatory Design Process Developed Jointly by Patients and Healthcare Professionals.
Charlotte Nielsen, Line Louise Rasmussen, Hanne Lerche and 2 others
PMID 41342274WHAT IT FOUND
Patients and hospital staff co-designed two oral-care solutions: an admission bag with a short postcard and oral-care products, and a ward network supported by dental hygienists.
The study developed the designs; it did not test whether they improve oral care.
Key findings
01The co-design process produced two planned solutions, not tested outcomes.
02The patient solution was designed as a postcard and oral-care products given on admission, with a short informative text.
03The healthcare professional solution was designed as a ward oral-care network of key stakeholders facilitated by dental hygienists, providing education, supervision, bedside training and product guidance.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
This was a design study, not an intervention trial, so it does not show that the postcard, products or network improve oral care. Only four patients took part in the patient workshop, and only three patients took part in the joint design workshop. The healthcare professional workshops were held ward by ward rather than with all groups together, because recruitment and time were difficult. The participants were mostly nurses, nursing assistants, undergraduates and dental-care experts, so the findings may not transfer to other hospitals or patient groups. The solutions were low-fidelity prototypes and were not implemented or evaluated during the study.
Declared interests
The Danish Dental Hygienists’ Association and The Development and Research Fund of Danish Regions funded the study. Sunstar/GUM and Haelon/Sensodyne provided oral care products. The research team selected the products based on professional knowledge.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the admission postcard and products or the ward oral-care network as proven ways to improve oral care. The paper only reports that patients and hospital staff designed these solutions in workshops; no patient oral-care outcomes were tested.