The impact of an oral hygiene education module on patient practices and nursing documentation.

BACKGROUND Oral hygiene is inconsistent among patients with cancer and is a national patient care issue. To promote comfort and nutritional status, oral hygiene for patients with cancer is important. OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to develop an evidence-based oral hygiene educational module (EM) for nursing and patient care technician (PCT) staff to promote consistent oral hygiene patient education; evaluate patient understanding of oral hygiene practices post-EM; and determine staff documentation frequency of oral hygiene care. METHODS Pre- and post-EM data were collected using a developed oral hygiene assessment tool; nursing documentation data were collected by chart review. Post-EM data were collected eight weeks post-EM. Data were analyzed using frequencies and the Mann-Whitney U test. FINDINGS Twenty-two patient documentation pairs were collected. Compared to pre-EM, admission teaching, patient education, and patient oral hygiene practices improved post-EM. Post-EM oral hygiene documentation and PCT teaching increased.