Abstract
Purpose：The purpose of this study was to investigate the actual experiences of four types of healthcare professionals（4HPs）（RNs：registered nurses, ANs：assistant nurses, CCWs：certified care workers, and CWs：care workers）at long-term nursing care facilities in Niigata Prefecture regarding the relationship between oral health care services（OCS）and improvement in the general condition of elderly residents, and thereby to contribute to the improvement of OCS.
Methods：Free-response items（part of a larger questionnaire）related to the actual experiences of 4HPs were analyzed qualitatively using KH Coder. Out of a total of 1,548（51.6％）questionnaire respondents, 244（16.1％）4HPs answered the free-response items. A set of coding rules consisting of 26 items and 223 words was drawn up based on classification of parts of speech of the Japanese language, and co-occurrence network analyses were performed.
Results：The results of this analysis revealed a close relationship between the experience level of the respondent and the respondentʼs perspective on the contribution of OCS to general physical improvement. Specifically, RNs and ANs showed high interest and awareness regarding pneumonia and breathing disorders, RNs and CCWs showed great concern regarding nutritional intake, and CCWs and CWs showed greatest concern toward oral and dental issues. It was as if each of the 4HPs wore different-colored glasses when they observed the relationship between oral health and physical changes of residents.
Conclusion：This study suggested that the perspective of observing OCS differs between the 4HPs. Future research is needed to evaluate the influence of these differences in order to avoid aspiration pneumonia.
