الفهرس 
AbstractOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Caring for critically ill patients creates competing priorities of interventions for nurses and other healthcare providers. Oral care is an element that might be prioritized lower by nurses; however, its neglect may lead to sequelae such as prolonged length of stay in the intensive care unit (ICU), nosocomial diseases particularly ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), or oral problems. Aim: The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of implementing oral care bundle on critical care nurses’ practice and mechanically ventilated (MV) patients’ outcomes. Method: A quasi-experimental research design was used. Two samples were included in the study. A convenience sample of 41 nurses in the ICUs of an Egyptian university-based hospital was recruited. A purposive sample of 82 adult MV patients admitted to the previously mentioned setting was included and randomly divided into 41 patients for each control and oral care bundle group. The nurses’ practice of the oral care bundle checklist and MV patients’ outcomes evaluation tools were used to collect data. Results: The overall nurses’ practice of oral care bundle was significantly improved post-educational sessions than pre-educational sessions (p< 0.001). Additionally, patients in the oral care bundle group had a lower incidence of VAP (17.1%) compared to patients in the control group (41.5%). Conclusion: The oral care bundle teaching sessions transformed the studied nurses’ practice. Further, maintenance of oral health and reduction in the VAP rates for MV patients were achieved by implementing the oral care bundle. Recommendations: Thorough training and educational programs on oral care bundle are crucial for ICU nurses to enhance their practice. The oral care bundle should be incorporated into the daily nursing care of MV patients for VAP reduction and oral health maintenance.