The Primary Health Care Corporation’s (PHCC) Preventive Health Directorate launched the pilot phase of Ejlal Home Oral Health Care Services Program for Elderly at the beginning of June 2023, in cooperation with the Home Health Care Services Department, under the supervision of Dr. Hamad Al Mudahka, Executive Director of Preventive Health, and led by Dr. Najat Al Yafei, Manager of Oral Health Promotion and Prevention.

Dr. Al Mudahka explained that the program’s services are special services aimed to establish a system to screen home health care patients at their Homes and determine their oral health status, to improve oral health awareness and knowledge among the elderly and their caregivers, and to refer patients in need for dental management to the appropriate level of care.

Through this program, the senior’s oral health is assessed, as some of them are in the advanced stage of the disease and cannot talk to others about their pain. Additionally, the assessment helps identify cases who need dental treatment or those who may be diagnosed to have various oral diseases, such as tooth decay, gingivitis, and mouth ulcers, he added. The assessment also helps with early detection of oral cancer cases.

Dr. Al Mudahka noted that providing health education for the elderly, their families, or their caregivers is necessary to prevent oral diseases.

He added that these services will be provided at home for all seniors registered in PHCC’s Home Health Care Services, where Ejlal staff will visit the senior’s home with a mobile dental unit and denal instruments to conduct a comprehensive oral assessment.

The oral assessment results will then be discussed with the elderly, their families, or their caregivers, where the focus will be placed on enhancing oral hygiene skills and educating the elderly, their families, or their caregivers on how to maintain good oral and dental hygiene.

As for the procedures followed before the home visit, he said that the nurse lead from Home Health Services will obtain the verbal consent from the elderly or their caregivers, to later sent it to Ejlal team, who will review the patient’s health condition, and call to confirm the appointment date and time. On the day of the visit, a signature on consent will be obtained from the elderly or their caregivers.

Dr. Al Mudahka concluded by stating: “The pilot phase will start in June 2023, for a period of three weeks, then after discussing the results and identifying the obstacles, if any, the implementation phase will begin, inshaaAllah.”

He further stated that this stage was preceded by a training workshop for all Ejlal staff, where trainees were apprised about the program’s objectives, the phases of the service plan, and the definition of roles and responsibilities of Ejlal service providers. In addition to explaining the provisioning of oral screening process of the service and the schedule of visits. Trainees also learned the Qatari etiquette, culture, and traditions of home visits, and how to manage challenges that may be encountered during home visits.

Some scientific topics were covered to understand the impact of oral health on elderly patients’ quality of life, the connection between oral and dental health and the various body diseases, and the age-related normal and abnormal oral and dental tissues changes. The trainees also learned how to refer cases in need of treatment on priority basis.