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The perception of oral health and oral care needs, barriers and current practices as perceived by managers and caregivers in organizations for people with disabilities in Flanders, Belgium

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Abstract

Objectives

To assess the perception of oral health and oral care needs, barriers and current practices as perceived by managers and caregivers in organizations for people with disabilities in Flanders.

Materials and methods

Two questionnaires were developed, one for managers and one for caregivers. The questionnaires were distributed in all 570 organizations for people with disabilities in Flanders. The survey was carried out in February 2018.

Results

Sixty-five managers completed the questionnaire and 63 of them could be linked to 57 unique organizations (10% of the contacted organizations). Managers perceived oral health to be better (P = 0.019) and mentioned less oral health needs (P = 0.049), when collaboration with a dentist was reported. When an oral health policy had been established in their organization, oral health was also perceived to be better (P = 0.048). The responses of 91 caregivers were included for analysis and 87 of them could be linked to 39 unique organizations (7% of contacted organizations). Seventy percent and 75% of the caregivers mentioned to have enough/comprehensive theoretical knowledge and practical skills, respectively, and 46% were interested in receiving oral health education. Most interest was shown in practical education and education customized to clients’ needs. In organizations with an oral health project, more caregivers indicated that the organization was open to oral health questions than in organizations without such a project (97% compared with 81%; P = 0.045). When there was a collaboration with a dentist, the organization was more open to caregivers’ questions (96% compared with 72%; P = 0.004) and a clear contact point was more readily available (81% compared with 48%; P = 0.004). Furthermore, caregivers were more interested to receive oral health education (P = 0.023) and mentioned to be more aware of the oral health of their clients (P = 0.015). About 23% and 30% of the caregivers indicated that guidelines were used in their organization for cleaning natural teeth and prostheses, respectively.

Conclusions

Despite the low response rate to the survey and reaching the management and caregivers of only 10% and 7% of the organizations respectively, this study indicates relevant issues to be incorporated when formulating recommendations for oral health promotion in people with disabilities in Flanders.

Clinical relevance

The results of this survey could affect the development of strategies and interventions to ameliorate the oral health of people with disabilities.

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Acknowledgements

The study was commissioned by the Flemish government. The authors would like to thank all managers and caregivers who participated in the study. They would also like to thank Mrs. Isabel Symens for the administrative support during the process of data collection. Furthermore, the members of the steering group of the Flemish Institute for Oral Health are acknowledged for their critical review of the questionnaires. Finally, we express our gratitude to Dr. Jannick De Tobel for his critical review of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Oral Health Sciences, Special Needs in Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, C. Heymanslaan 10, 9000, Ghent, Belgium

    Inès Phlypo, Ellen Palmers, Lynn Janssens & Luc Marks

  2. Department of Oral Health Sciences, Population Studies in Oral Health, KU Leuven, Kapucijnenvoer 7, 3000, Leuven, Belgium

    Ellen Palmers & Dominique Declerck

  3. Department of Educational Science EDWE-LOCI, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050, Brussel, Belgium

    Wolfgang Jacquet

  4. Department of Oral Health Sciences ORHE, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Laarbeeklaan 103, 1090, Brussel, Belgium

    Wolfgang Jacquet

  5. Department of Periodontology and Oral Implantology, Ghent University, C. Heymanslaan 10, 9000, Ghent, Belgium

    Wolfgang Jacquet

Authors
  1. Inès Phlypo
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  2. Ellen Palmers
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  3. Lynn Janssens
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  4. Luc Marks
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  5. Wolfgang Jacquet
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  6. Dominique Declerck
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Inès Phlypo.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

The project was conducted in full accordance with the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the Ghent University Hospital ethics committee under national registration number B670201733146.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Phlypo, I., Palmers, E., Janssens, L. et al. The perception of oral health and oral care needs, barriers and current practices as perceived by managers and caregivers in organizations for people with disabilities in Flanders, Belgium. Clin Oral Invest 24, 2061–2070 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00784-019-03071-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00784-019-03071-z

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