Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of Nurses towards Oral Care of Psychiatric Patients at a Teaching Hospital, Kigali, Rwanda

Abstract

Background Psychiatric patients are prone to different oral health problems. This study aimed to assess nurses’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards oral care of psychiatric patients due to their limited mental abilities of self-control at a Teaching Hospital. Methods and materials This was a cross-sectional study conducted at a Teaching Hospital using self-administered questionnaire. Sixty-five nurses were enrolled through census sampling method in December 2021. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 25 by applying descriptive statistics to assess nurse’s knowledge attitude and practices towards oral care. Results The results showed that 53 (93%) nurses had poor knowledge. Also 44(75%) of nurses had inappropriate practice and among them 33(57.9%) had positive attitude. Conclusion This study found that high number of nurses had poor knowledge and inappropriate practices and half of them had positive attitude. Therefore, there is a need training for nurses to increase their level of knowledge and improve their practice regarding oral care of psychiatric patients.