The effect of oral care education and reminder cards on patients receiving hemodialysis treatment: a quasi-experimental study.

backgroundPreserving dental health in patients undergoing hemodialysis is crucial for enhancing quality of life. Nonetheless, interventions pertaining to oral health have not been adequately studied. The aim is to investigate the impact of oral care education and reminder cards concerning oral health on the oral health and illness adaptation of persons undergoing hemodialysis.

methodsThe study employed a quasi-experimental design with a single group, utilising pre-test and post-test measurements. The study included 82 individuals (aged ≥ 18 years) receiving treatment in the hemodialysis units of two different hospitals in Turkey. Sociodemographic and clinical information was obtained from medical records. The "Adaptation to Chronic Illness Scale" and the "Oral Assessment Guide" were employed to assess oral health and illness adaptation. A one-week intervention was conducted, using daily oral health reminder cards following oral care teaching. The Independent Samples T-Test was used for comparing the mean scores of the OAG and ACIS across two categorical variables, and One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used for more than two categorical variables.

resultsThe results indicate a significant short-term improvement in oral health and illness adaptation levels one week following the intervention (p = 0.00). Specifically, a significant difference was found between the pre-test (15.51 ± 2.67; 84.37 ± 9.14, respectively) and post-test (12.61 ± 3.83; 86.26 ± 9.66, respectively) scores. Oral health and treatment adherence were better after the use of oral care education and reminder cards (p = 0.00). Daily tooth brushing frequency was a common factor influencing oral health and chronic disease adherence levels (p < 0.05). The mean scores for oral health and illness adaptation were moderately and negatively correlated before and after the intervention (sırasıyla r=-0.46, r=-0.52; p < 0.01).

conclusionIn conclusion, the use of oral care education and reminder cards appears to be a promising strategy for achieving short-term improvements in oral health and illness adaptation among hemodialysis patients.

trial registrationThis study protocol was retrospectively registered on the trial registry "Clinical trials.gov PRS". CLINICALTRIALS: gov ID is NCT07462208. The registration date is March 10, 2026.