Nurses’ educational needs in the oral health of inpatients at Yazd Province in Iran: a Delphi study

BACKGROUND: Oral hygiene is an integral part of general health of a person. Nurses qualified about oral care can play an important role in improving the quality of oral health in hospitalized patients. This study investigated the educational needs of nurses in the field of oral health of hospitalized patients. METHODS: The study used the modified Delphi method in three rounds. Fifty faculty members of the School of Dentistry and Nursing were selected via purposive sampling. The data collection tool was a demographic form and an open-ended questionnaire in the first round and a structured questionnaire in the next rounds. The analysis was performed using both content and descriptive analysis techniques. RESULTS: The top ten oral health education priorities for nurses were greater than 75% with a consensus level: oral anatomy and physiology, learning the signs and symptoms of common oral diseases, learning of oral medications and administration, learning the drugs that cause damage to the mouth and teeth, training in managing dental emergencies, patient education for tooth brushing and taking care of the mouth, especially in the elderly patient, providing oral and dental care, training for unconscious and fasting patients, undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and hospitalization in intensive care unit. CONCLUSION: The findings of the study emphasized the need for interdisciplinary cooperation between nursing and dental professionals for the development of an oral health curriculum for nurses to promote and improve oral health and prevent dental diseases in hospitalized patients and the community. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12912-020-00517-8.