Raising Awareness of Oral Care Through Co-Creation: A Qualitative Evaluation Study With Patients and Healthcare Professionals in a Hospital Setting.

AIM: To explore how oral care is experienced and enacted in clinical practice by patients and staff in hospital wards 6 months after implementing solutions aimed at improving oral care. DESIGN: A qualitative study exploring the experiences of patients and staff from wards that participated in testing solutions to improve oral care. The solutions were oral care goodie bags for patients and support from dental hygienists. METHODS: Data collection involved participant observation in four hospital wards, 12 individual semi-structured patient interviews, and four focus groups with 26 staff members. The data analysis was based on Ricoeur's theory of interpretation. Data collection took place from May to June 2024. RESULTS: Three themes emerged regarding oral care practice: (1) Raising awareness of oral care as a first step towards changes in practice, (2) oral care is deprioritised during hospitalisation, and (3) oral care involves navigating personal and professional boundaries. CONCLUSION: The co-created interventions enhanced awareness of oral care, representing an early stage of cultural change across organisational levels. However, persistent barriers underscore the complexity and gradual nature of cultural change in clinical practice. IMPLICATIONS FOR PATIENT CARE: This study proposes an intervention aimed at enhancing sustained oral care practice through the integration of external dental expertise and goodie bags for patients. IMPACT: The study demonstrates that strengthening knowledge and support for both patients and staff is crucial to improving oral care practice in hospital settings. Establishing legitimised approaches can help staff overcome personal boundaries, while co-creation with patients and staff holds promise for sustainable improvements in oral care practice. REPORTING METHODS: The study followed COREQ criteria for reporting qualitative research. PATIENT CONTRIBUTION: A patient representative from the department was involved as a contributor in discussions on the study's design, conduct, and results.