IADR Abstract Archives
Oral Care of Palliative Care Patients – Carers’ and Relatives’ Experiences.
Objectives: The oral cavity, in palliative care patients, is commonly the first site of discomfort and loss of function. Oral care, however, is often overlooked for palliative care patients. There is a lack of evidence-based guidance regarding how this care should be delivered. Palliative oral care is a poorly researched area and the experiences of patients, their carers and relatives are seldom explored. The aim of this study was to address this gap and explore the oral care experiences of palliative care patients, from the perspective of their carers and/or relatives.
Methods: Blogs and discussion forums, on public internet sites, were used to access the data. This approach was chosen to avoid causing additional burden to this population. An electronic search using “Google” and known blog platforms such as “Tumblr” and “Wordpress” was conducted on January 25th, 2017. Data were analysed using thematic analysis.
Results: Eight blogs and eight discussion forums fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were analysed. Three main themes were identified: symptoms, procedures and emotions. Oral symptoms that needed to be addressed were mentioned. Authors described symptoms that they could observe themselves. There was an association between oral care procedures and the oral symptoms observed. However routine oral care procedures were described without much detail. When negative events happened there was a much more in-depth and emotionally charged description. The authors’ emotional responses to the oral care delivered and/or lack of oral care delivered, varied from anger, guilt, worry and trauma.
Conclusions: The data on oral care provided by the blogs and discussion forums included was scarce. However it provided insight into a poorly researched area and will inform a future qualitative interviews study.
Methods: Blogs and discussion forums, on public internet sites, were used to access the data. This approach was chosen to avoid causing additional burden to this population. An electronic search using “Google” and known blog platforms such as “Tumblr” and “Wordpress” was conducted on January 25th, 2017. Data were analysed using thematic analysis.
Results: Eight blogs and eight discussion forums fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were analysed. Three main themes were identified: symptoms, procedures and emotions. Oral symptoms that needed to be addressed were mentioned. Authors described symptoms that they could observe themselves. There was an association between oral care procedures and the oral symptoms observed. However routine oral care procedures were described without much detail. When negative events happened there was a much more in-depth and emotionally charged description. The authors’ emotional responses to the oral care delivered and/or lack of oral care delivered, varied from anger, guilt, worry and trauma.
Conclusions: The data on oral care provided by the blogs and discussion forums included was scarce. However it provided insight into a poorly researched area and will inform a future qualitative interviews study.