Interprofessional education for oral-systemic preventive care in older adults: evaluation of a nursing–dental educational session
- 1Missouri School of Dentistry and Oral Health, A.T. Still University
- 2Barnes- Jewish College, Goldfarb School of Nursing
Abstract
Background The oral-systemic connection is a critical yet under-addressed component of geriatric care, despite the high burden of oral disease and preventable morbidity among older adults. Interprofessional education (IPE) offers a strategy to strengthen team-based communication, clarify professional roles, and support collaborative preventive care. Objectives To describe the development and implementation of a joint nursing-dental IPE session integrating geriatric oral health, oral cancer screening, and vaccination content, and to evaluate students’ post-session perceptions of interprofessional collaboration using the Student Perceptions of Interprofessional Clinical Education-Revised (SPICE-R) instrument. Methods A 2-hour, case-based IPE session was delivered to 73 predoctoral dental students and 4 graduate nursing students from two institutions using a flipped-classroom model with pre-work, skills-based instruction, and interprofessional case planning. Learner perceptions were assessed post-session using the validated 10-item SPICE-R instrument. Descriptive statistics summarized responses, and internal consistency was measured using Cronbach’s alpha. Results Seventy-seven learners completed the post-session survey. Mean item scores ranged from 3.70 to 4.34 on a 5-point Likert scale. The mean total SPICE-R score was 41.78 ± 8.77. Subscale mean scores were 4.22 ± 0.96 for Teamwork and Team-Based Practice, 4.18 ± 0.86 for Roles and Responsibilities, and 4.12 ± 0.91 for Patient Outcomes from Collaborative Practice. Internal consistency was excellent (α = 0.97). Conclusions This educational session demonstrated feasibility and was associated with favorable post-session perceptions of interprofessional collaboration. However, findings should be interpreted cautiously because the evaluation primarily reflects dental student perceptions due to the substantial imbalance in professional representation.
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BibTeX
@article{oladayo2026interprofessional,
title = {{Interprofessional education for oral-systemic preventive care in older adults: evaluation of a nursing–dental educational session}},
author = {Abimbola Oladayo and Mohamed Rahhal and Paul Bigg and Mary Curtis and Hanan Omar},
journal = {BMC Medical Education},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1186/s12909-026-09959-1},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-026-09959-1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Interprofessional education for oral-systemic preventive care in older adults: evaluation of a nursing–dental educational session
AU - Abimbola Oladayo
AU - Mohamed Rahhal
AU - Paul Bigg
AU - Mary Curtis
AU - Hanan Omar
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/01
JO - BMC Medical Education
DO - 10.1186/s12909-026-09959-1
UR - https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-026-09959-1
AB - Background The oral-systemic connection is a critical yet under-addressed component of geriatric care, despite the high burden of oral disease and preventable morbidity among older adults. Interprofessional education (IPE) offers a strategy to strengthen team-based communication, clarify professional roles, and support collaborative preventive care. Objectives To describe the development and implementation of a joint nursing-dental IPE session integrating geriatric oral health, oral cancer screening, and vaccination content, and to evaluate students’ post-session perceptions of interprofessional collaboration using the Student Perceptions of Interprofessional Clinical Education-Revised (SPICE-R) instrument. Methods A 2-hour, case-based IPE session was delivered to 73 predoctoral dental students and 4 graduate nursing students from two institutions using a flipped-classroom model with pre-work, skills-based instruction, and interprofessional case planning. Learner perceptions were assessed post-session using the validated 10-item SPICE-R instrument. Descriptive statistics summarized responses, and internal consistency was measured using Cronbach’s alpha. Results Seventy-seven learners completed the post-session survey. Mean item scores ranged from 3.70 to 4.34 on a 5-point Likert scale. The mean total SPICE-R score was 41.78 ± 8.77. Subscale mean scores were 4.22 ± 0.96 for Teamwork and Team-Based Practice, 4.18 ± 0.86 for Roles and Responsibilities, and 4.12 ± 0.91 for Patient Outcomes from Collaborative Practice. Internal consistency was excellent (α = 0.97). Conclusions This educational session demonstrated feasibility and was associated with favorable post-session perceptions of interprofessional collaboration. However, findings should be interpreted cautiously because the evaluation primarily reflects dental student perceptions due to the substantial imbalance in professional representation.
SN - 1472-6920
ER -