Oral health assessment of older adults living in long-term care facilities by non-dental professionals: a systematic review protocol of instruments

Introduction Regular oral health assessment among older adults living in long-term care facilities (LTCF) can improve their oral health. Different instruments have been developed and used to evaluate the oral health of institutionalised older people by non-dental professionals. These instruments must demonstrate adequate measurement properties. This systematic review aims to examine the studies describing the instruments employed to assess the oral health of older adults living in LTCF by non-dental professionals. The study will also evaluate the measurement properties of such instruments using the checklist proposed by the Consensus-based Standards to select health Measurement Instruments (COSMIN). Methods and analysis Studies describing the development of instruments for assessing oral health of institutionalised older adults by non-dental professionals will be included. Studies assessing at least one measurement property (validity, reliability or responsiveness) will be also considered. Electronic searches will be conducted on MEDLINE (PubMed, Ovid), Embase, Web of Science, Scopus and LILACS databases. Two independent reviewers will select the studies and will extract data concerning the characteristics of the research and the instrument. The measurement properties will be evaluated using the COSMIN checklist. The Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation approach will be used to grade the quality (or certainty) of evidence and strength of recommendations. Ethics and dissemination No ethical approval is required. The results will be submitted for publication to a peer-review journal and presented at relevant conferences. PROSPERO registration number CRD42020191479.

Automated summary

This systematic review aims to examine the instruments used by non-dental professionals to assess the oral health of older adults living in LTCF, and evaluate the measurement properties of these instruments. Studies will be selected and data will be extracted by independent reviewers, with evaluation of measurement properties using the COSMIN checklist.