REDUCE (tRanslating knowlEDge for fUndamental CarE): missed oral healthcare: it takes a team (Whittaker Smiles): Project Report

A growing body of research indicates that many people, especially older patients, experience increased oral health risks during their hospital stay. Oral healthcare is also known to be one of the most missed aspects of fundamental care reported by patients. Importantly, failure to provide patients with basic daily oral healthcare leads to adverse health consequences such as hospital acquired pneumonias, longer hospital stays, increased health costs, concerns related to the safety and quality of care, and poor patient experience.

SA Dental, the Caring Futures Institute of Flinders University, and the Southern Adelaide Local Health Network (SALHN) formed a collaboration from July 2020 to April 2022. This partnership was a response to calls from a group of multidisciplinary lead clinicians from the SALHN Division of Rehabilitation, Aged Care and Palliative Care (RAP) who were interested in improving the provision of daily oral healthcare as a risk mitigation strategy against hospital acquired pneumonias in Geriatric Evaluation and Management (GEM) Unit patients.

Called REDUCE (tRanslating knowlEDge for fUndamental CarE) missed oral healthcare: it takes a team (also known as Whittaker Smiles), the project’s key aims were to identify the gaps between current oral healthcare practice and recommended evidence-based practice and to develop tailored multidisciplinary team (MDT) strategies to improve the adherence to evidencebased oral healthcare.