The antecedents of oral care in nursing facilities - a qualitative interview study among supervisor nurses.

Objectives: This qualitative study describes the views of supervisor nurses related to antecedents of oral care in Finnish nursing facilities.

Methods: In the six largest cities in Finland, 19 supervisor nurses were interviewed and asked five semi-structured questions related to the antecedents of oral care in the units. The interviews were analyzed using inductive content analysis.

Results: Qualitative content analysis revealed five main categories: awareness of nurses (3 categories, 9 subcategories), attitude and motivation (3 categories, 10 subcategories), supporting quality of life and health (4 categories, 11 subcategories), the meaning of oral health in the unit (3 categories, 10 subcategories), and the role of the supervisor nurse in oral health care (4 categories, 14 subcategories). The awareness of nurses regarding oral health was in most cases good. Nurses' attitudes towards oral health and their motivation to oral care vary but were mostly good. Nurses were aware that oral care enhances the quality of life. The role of the supervisor nurse in organizing oral care was crucial.

Conclusions: The performed analysis identified five main categories to describe antecedents for oral care in Finnish nursing facilities. The categories that needed to be improved were knowledge and attitude, and motivation related to oral care.