A study of periodontal disease awareness amongst third-year nursing students

Abstract

Nurses make up a large portion of health care professionals, are part of the first line of health care and in a position to provide health education, advice and referrals for patients at high risk of experiencing systemic diseases such as cancers and life-threatening illnesses that are often firstly evident in the mouth. Objectives: To assess final-year nursing students about their awareness of periodontal disease and its impact on general health; and to ascertain their knowledge about the periodontal links to systemic disease as well as their perceived knowledge and abilities to provide informed advice and referrals to at-risk patients. Hypothesis: Third-year nursing students are limited in their awareness and knowledge of periodontal disease. Conclusion: The results showed that they have a sound level of general knowledge regarding issues relating to periodontal disease. However, a majority indicated a lack of confidence and suggested more oral health knowledge should be provided within their nursing curriculum.

Keywords:

• nursing curriculum
• diabetes mellitus
• chronic diseases
• links to systematic diseases

Acknowledgements

The authors want to thank Dr Maree Bernoth, Senior Lecturer, School of Nursing Midwifery and Indigenous Health, CSU.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.