The impact of oral health and the implications on quality of life for seniors: A Prince Edward Island Study

This thesis examines the literature pertaining to the relationship of oral health and quality of life for seniors, and describes the self-reported oral problems of a sample of seniors on Prince Edward Island (P.E.I)]. The instrument used for this study was the Subjective Oral Health Indicators, a validated tool in use for similar research on independent living seniors in other geographic regions of Canada. A cluster sampling design was used to randomly select senior housing units across the five geographic counties of P.E.I. Surveys were mailed to seniors through the Regional Housing Authorities for the five regions. The quantitative analysis included frequencies of problems identified related to oral health and worry/concern associated with those problems.Results of this research identified a number of self-reported oral health issues by seniors, that indicated a number of issues around speaking, oral pain and discomfort as problems. There was a significant difference in responses between male and female on various aspects of the study, something not addressed in other research of this nature. The Centre for Health Promotion [CHP], University of Toronto, quality of life conceptual framework (Renwick, Brown & Nagler, 1996), and the Precede-Proceed model of health promotion implementation was used to determine quality of life needs as outcomes for health promotion strategies.Results of this study were compared to similar studies in Ontario and the United States. Levels of awareness by seniors on issues of oral health were inconclusive in this study. Further research regarding the issue of oral health and quality of life for seniors on P.E.I., both qualitative and epidemiological, is recommended.Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 41-02, page: 0362.Adviser: Vianne Timmons