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Oral health care status of homebound elderly in Japan
Author(s) -
Morishita Masayuki,
Takaesu Yoshinori,
Miyatake Kokichi,
Shinsho Fumiaki,
Fujioka Michiharu
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
journal of oral rehabilitation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.991
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1365-2842
pISSN - 0305-182X
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2842.2001.00713.x
Subject(s) - dentures , oral health , medicine , activities of daily living , gerontology , elderly people , oral health care , independence (probability theory) , scale (ratio) , physical therapy , family medicine , dentistry , statistics , physics , mathematics , quantum mechanics
We examined the present conditions of oral health care in order to contribute towards an effective system to provide oral health care for homebound elderly in Japan. A questionnaire was mailed to homebound elderly subjects ( n =908) and returned by mail. A 73·6% response was achieved. The questionnaire was designed to elicit information with respect to the general condition of the subjects and independence of oral health care. About 70% of the subjects were chair‐ or bed‐bound. Among all subjects, 37·6% required partial or full assistance on toothbrushing, 55·6% on cleaning dentures and 46·7% on eating. The degree of oral health care tended to be poor for chair‐ or bed‐bound elderly compared with independent or house‐bound elderly. Homebound elderly with lower Activities of Daily Living Scale (ADL) required more support for oral health care compared with elderly with higher ADL.