‘Whose role is it anyway?’ Experiences of community nurses in the delivery and support of oral health care for older people living at home - a grounded theory study

Sep 20, 2026

Grounded theory study of UK community nurses’ experiences delivering and supporting oral healthcare for older adults receiving home-based care. Community nurses were interviewed one-to-one in semi-structured sessions from May to December 2021, and transcripts were analysed via constant comparative methods. Four categories—education, practice, confidence, and motivation—were linked by a core phenomenon of uncertainty about roles and collaboration. Findings support comprehensive, continuous oral health education and clearer interprofessional role definitions to improve outcomes.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages14

Reading Time35 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

‘Whose role is it anyway?’ Experiences of community nurses in the delivery and support of oral health care for older people living at home: a grounded theory study Mitchell, G. , Stark, P. , Brown Wilson, C. , Tsakos, G. , Brocklehurst, P. , Lappin, C. , Quinn, B. , Holland, N. , & McKenna, G. (2023) .‘Whose role is it anyway?’ Experiences of community nurses in the delivery and support of oral health care for older people living at home: a grounded theory study. BMC Nursing, 22, Article 359 . [https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-023-01533-0](https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-023-01533-0) Published in: BMC Nursing Document Version: Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Queen's University Belfast-Research Portal: Link to publication record in Queen's University Belfast Research Portal Publisher rights Copyright 2023 the authors. This is an open access article published under a Creative Commons Attribution License ([https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the author and source are cited. General rights Copyright for the publications made accessible via the Queen's University Belfast Research Portal is retained by the author(s) and / or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing these publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. Take down policy The Research Portal is Queen's institutional repository that provides access to Queen's research output. Every effort has been made to ensure that content in the Research Portal does not infringe any person's rights, or applicable UK laws. If you discover content in the Research Portal that you believe breaches copyright or violates any law, [please contact openaccess@qub.ac.uk](please contact openaccess@qub.ac.uk). Open Access This research has been made openly available by Queen's academics and its Open Research team. We would love to hear how access to this research benefits you.– Share your feedback with us: [http://go.qub.ac.uk/oa-feedback](http://go.qub.ac.uk/oa-feedback) [Download date:20. Sep. 2026](Download date:20. Sep. 2026) Mitchell et al. BMC Nursing (2023) 22:359 [https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-023-01533-0](https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-023-01533-0) BMC Nursing RESEARCH Open Access ‘Whose role is it anyway?’ Experiences of community nurses in the delivery and support of oral health care for older people living at home: a grounded theory study Gary Mitchell1* , Patrick Stark1, Christine Brown Wilson1 , Georgios Tsakos2 , Paul Brocklehurst3 , Caroline Lappin4, Barry Quinn1 , Nicola Holland4,5 and Gerry McKenna5 Abstract Background Older people who receive care at home are likely to require support with oral health care. Community nurses, who are also referred to as district or home care nurses, have an important role with this population. This is because they are the healthcare professionals who are most likely to encounter this population, who may also not be receiving regular dental care or oral health promotion. However, few studies have explored community nursing experiences in the delivery and support of oral healthcare for older people living at home. Methods A grounded theory approach was used to explore experiences of community nurses in the delivery and support of oral health care for older people living at home. Fifteen practising community nurses from the United Kingdom participated in one-to-one semi-structed interviews from May 2021 to December 2021. These interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using constant comparative analysis. Ethical approval was obtained for this study prior to data collection. Results Four categories emerged from the data to support development of the core phenomena. These four categories were: (1) Education, in relation to what community nurses

FAQs

What was the study’s focus regarding older people’s oral health care at home?

The study examined how community nurses deliver and support oral health care for older adults living at home and what experiences shape their role.

How were the data and analysis conducted in this grounded theory study?

Fifteen practising community nurses participated in one-to-one semi-structured interviews, recorded and transcribed verbatim. Analysis used constant comparative methods within a grounded theory approach.

What core finding emerged across the categories?

A central core phenomenon of uncertainty linked education, practice, confidence, and motivation, reflecting community nurses’ understanding of their role and the roles of other professionals.

What recommendations does the study make to improve oral health outcomes?

The study highlights comprehensive, continuous oral health education to strengthen confidence, and stresses interprofessional collaboration with clear role definitions to improve outcomes for this vulnerable group.

Sep 20, 2026

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