Infusing Oral Health Care into Nursing Curriculum: Addressing Preventive Health in Aging and Disability

Table 1

Overview of phases of development, testing and integration of an oral health module for nurse practitioner students serving persons aging with disabilities.

(a) Phase 1: curriculum development and testing

Project phase	Activities	Methods	Participants	Data and response rate	Outcomes of activities
	Development of oral health forms and evaluation methods Identification of resources (for elders and PWDs)	Curriculum development with collaboration of dental and nursing faculty/staff and project director	Dental faculty/staff (2); Nursing faculty (1); Project Director (1)		Resource list; Lecture evaluation tool; Oral health forms (3); Practicum evaluation tool
Module development and testing	2-hour didactic lecture with oral health screening demonstration and GNP student return demonstration and post intervention evaluation	Educational intervention with postlecture evaluation	Nurse faculty member (1); Dental faculty member (1); GNP students (8)	Lecture Evaluation Tool; GNP students 𝑁=8; 62.5%	High level of reported student satisfaction with module and learning of content
	Practicum site coordination; Collation of educational and screening packets; Recruitment of faculty and students		Nursing faculty member (1); Clinical nursing faculty (1)		Agency established as clinical practicum site; Established an annual health fair conducted by NP students

PWDs: persons with disabilities; GNP: gerontological nurse practitioner.

(b) Phase 2: module integration (clinical section)

Project phase	Activities	Methods	Participants	Data and response rate	Outcomes of activities
Infusion and inclusion into one clinical section	Integration of oral health content and resources in GNP clinical practicum section; Practicum held at Geriatric Health Fair with oral and multidimensional health screenings for elders with I/DD	Practicum educational intervention with postlecture evaluation for GNP students and for elders with I/DD who attended the health fair	Clinical nursing faculty (1); Agency staff liaison (1); GNP students (23); PWDs (45)	Practicum evaluation by; GNP students 𝑁=23 79.3%; Elders with I/DD; 𝑁=45; 49.1%	Favorable ratings by GNP students on learning, improvement in confidence and skills and satisfaction with materials, tools, and practicum; Favorable satisfaction ratings by elders with disabilities on help and visit by nurse, materials and learning about health

GNP: gerontological nurse practitioner; I/DD: intellectual and/or developmental disabilities.

(c) Phase 3: module integration (nursing program)

Project phase	Activities	Methods	Participants	Data and response rate	Outcomes of activities
Integration into one NP course in graduate nursing program^a	Integration of oral health module (lecture, practicum, and evaluation tools) into one course for all NP students in graduate nursing program activities	Educational intervention: 2-hour lecture by dental faculty, 12 required oral health screenings and preventive oral health plans per each NP student in practicum, and pre/postevaluation	Dental faculty member (1); Nursing faculty/Course coordinator (1); Nursing clinical faculty (7)^c; NP students (90); Clients (practicum) = ~1080	Forthcoming in next academic quarter	Learner gain based on pre/posttest; Learner satisfaction, confidence and skill development

NP: nurse practitioner.
^aCourse is inclusive of NP students in acute care, adult/gerontology, family, adult/occupational health, and oncology graduate master’s NP program. ^bAll NP students in program except for pediatric NP students. ^cOne clinical faculty member per section of twelve students.