An assessment of the quality of care given to, and hygiene on patients at a teaching hospital in Namibia

Abstract

An assessment was done during 1991 to evaluate the quality of care with regard to mouth hygiene rendered to patients in a teaching hospital in Namibia. The sample was drawn from nine wards. By means of a type of quota sampling, the patients were categorised as dependent, interdependent or independent. The nursing process was used as a framework for the study. From the assessment it became evident that no policies existed with regard to oral hygiene. Planning was not in every case based on assessment, and it seemed that when planning(s) were done, it was not always implemented. Record keeping was the aspect most poorly attended to.