Abstract
In Japan, many dependent elderly people living in long-term care insurance (LTCI) facilities nave acute histories of cerebrovascular accident. The purpose of this study was to investigate the current status and management of oral health care for elderly people residing in LTCI facilities. We selected 15,722 LTCI facilities through the internet homepage "U-raku", which is a welfare information network, using four key phrases: "Welfare facilities for elderly people requiring nursing care", "Health facilities for elderly people requiring nursing care", "Medical institutions for recuperation through nursing care", and "Group home". A random sampling of 1,000 facilities was carried out for each category of institution. A questionnaire was then mailed to 4,000 LTCI facilities to be returned by mail (n=1,713, response rate=42.8%). The results showed that 91.4% of fundamental care plans in LTCI facilities included oral health care; however, an actual check on how oral health care was being implemented revealed a rate of approximately once per month in the majority of facilities. A large number of care personnel in LTCI facilities were in charge of checking on oral health care. The LTCI facility staff, however, had received little education on oral health and related issues in their training. The response to a question on oral health care showed that the number of patients receiving treatment from visiting dentists was about the same as the number of residents visiting dental clinics. The results of this study suggest that dental health personnel should work together with care personnel to provide regular oral health care for elderly people in LTCI facilities.
