Attitudes to oral care among caregivers in Japanese nursing homes.

<bold>Objectives: </bold>The purpose of this study is to investigate oral care practice and awareness of it among caregivers in Japanese nursing homes.<bold>Methods: </bold>Caregivers were surveyed by means of a self-administered questionnaire designed to elicit the following information: awareness of oral care, its importance, the burden involved in oral care, and systematization of oral care.<bold>Results: </bold>The results showed that most caregivers are adequately informed of the importance of oral care, but are inadequately educated in oral care and have little training in systematic oral care.<bold>Conclusion: </bold>The importance of providing appropriate and systematic oral care training must be stressed among caregivers along with the need to develop equipment to simplify and support oral care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]