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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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The assessment and implementation of mouth care in palliative care
— a review | | Author(s) | J L Gillam, David G Gillam |
| Journal title | Journal of the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health, vol 126, no 1, January 2006 |
| Pages | pp 33-37 |
| Source | http://rsh.sagepub.com |
| Keywords | Dental services ; Cancer ; Pain ; Terminal care ; Nursing ; Literature reviews. |
| Annotation | From a review of the literature published between 1985 and 1999, it is evident that the importance and maintenance of oral health for patients with cancer is recognised as an integral part of basic nursing care. Yet from practical observation in the hospital environment together with reviewing the published literature, it is clear there appears to be limited evidence of regular assessment of the mouth or implementation of oral protocols on the ward. Articles selected highlight the lack of published research; and their results raise concern about the lack of training and education for nurses in the assessment of mouth care, as well as the need to rationalise the assessment tools used in the ward or hospice. While it was recognised in palliative care that a multiprofessional approach was beneficial, in practice this did not appear to apply to mouth care with a few notable exceptions. This review highlights inconsistencies in both the knowledge of mouth care and its implementation by nursing staff. The importance of establishing protocols and setting standards of care was also indicated in this review. It is clear that without effective assessment of the mouth, the appropriate implementation of care will not be delivered. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-060313224 A |
| Classmark | L8: CK: CT7: LV: LQ: 64A |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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