Effect of Oral Health Education Using a Mobile App (OHEMA) on the Oral Health and Swallowing-Related Quality of Life in Community-Based Integrated Care of the Elderly: A Randomized Clinical Trial

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Jung-Eun Park¹  Ja-Won Cho²  Ji-Yun Ki³  Jong-Hwa Jang³  Kyung-Sook Cho³  Se-Rim Jo³ 

[1] Department of Dental Hygiene, College of Health Science, Dankook University, Cheonan-si 31116, Korea;Department of Preventive Dentistry, College of Dentistry, Dankook University, Cheonan-si 31116, Korea;Department of Public Health, Graduate School, Dankook University, Cheonan-si 31116, Korea;

关键词: elderly;    oral care;    oral education;    home care;    xerostomia;    swallowing-related quality of life;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijerph182111679

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

This study investigated the effect of oral health education using a mobile app (OHEMA) on the oral health and swallowing-related quality of life (SWAL-QoL) of the elderly population in a community-based integrated care project (CICP). Forty elderly individuals in the CICP were randomized into intervention and control groups. OHEMA provided information on customized oral health care management, oral exercises, and intraoral and extraoral massage methods for 50 min/session, once a week, for 6 weeks. Pre- and post-intervention surveys assessed the unstimulated salivary flow rate, subjective oral dryness, tongue pressure, and SWAL-QoL, which were analyzed using ANCOVA and repeated measures ANOVA. In the intervention group, tongue pressure increased significantly from pre- (17.75) to post-intervention (27.24) (p < 0.001), and subjective oral dryness decreased from pre- (30.75) to post-intervention (18.50). The unstimulated salivary flow rate had a higher mean score in the intervention group (7.19) than in the control group (5.04) (p < 0.001). The SWAL-QoL significantly improved from pre- (152.10) to post-intervention (171.50) in the intervention group (p < 0.001) but did not change significantly in the control group (p > 0.05). OHEMA appears to be a useful tool for oral health education for the elderly as it improved the SWAL-QoL, with increased tongue pressure and reduced oral dryness.

【 授权许可】

Unknown