Multidisciplinary Professionals' Perceptions of Home-Visit Oral Care for Older Adults in Integrated Community Care: A Focus Group Interview Study.

Abstract

Background/Objectives: With the acceleration of population ageing the need for integrated support in healthcare and caregiving is increasing, and the societal demand for improved service quality is also increasing. This study aims to explore how multidisciplinary professionals perceive the implementation of home-visit oral care (HVOC) within the Integrated Community Care in Older Adults model, in order to inform the design of future integrated oral health programs. Methods: The study participants comprised 16 individuals: eight dental hygienists with experience in HVOC and eight multidisciplinary healthcare providers. Focus group interviews were conducted with these participants, and the data were analysed using Colaizzi's phenomenological method to derive key themes and categories. Results: The analysis revealed four main thematic categories: (1) cognitive aspects (understanding of geriatric diseases and families); (2) technical aspects (effective communication and competence in oral care); (3) value-based aspects (empathy, patient-centredness, professional pride); (4) multidisciplinary organisational efforts (establishing interprofessional collaboration systems and integrated platforms). Conclusions: HVOC services provided by dental hygienists were found to promote oral health among older adults. To ensure the sustainability and effectiveness of such services, a customised integrated care model based on multidisciplinary collaboration should be established.