Purpose:

The Oral Care Interest Group (OCIG) is a university-based multidisciplinary group dedicated to the delivery of quality, cost-effective oral care that promotes oral health and prevents complications related to poor oral hygiene.

Significance:

The OCIG supports collaborative faculty research, student projects, product development, professional education, and development of evidence-based practice standards and outcome evaluation.

Design/Background/Rationale:

This open working group was founded by faculty from the School of Nursing and School of Dentistry Dental Hygiene Program. Membership is composed of faculty, staff, and students from nursing, dentistry, and selected clinical practice specialties who are interested in oral health research, education, and practice.

Methods/Description:

The group meets regularly to address the progress of projects and to plan for continued work. In addition, the group created a Web site for sharing resources such as Web links, Endnote reference files and other materials. Undergraduate dental hygiene students, CNS students, and doctoral students benefit from this collaborative arrangement though group-supported and faculty-mentored projects/research.

Findings/Outcomes:

Individually and collectively, the group is involved in conducting surveys of oral hygiene practices by nurses for acute care and oncology patient populations, product evaluation, and development of outcome-based care protocols. Under the university umbrella, the group works with experts in nursing, dentistry, and medicine to advance effective oral care for the most vulnerable patient groups, including bone marrow transplant and ventilator-supported, critically ill patients.

Conclusions:

This multidisciplinary group organized around a common mission has been mutually beneficial, leading to scholarly initiatives that improve the quality of oral care provided to high-risk patient populations.