What does this research mean for the field?

An oral hygiene intervention in nursing homes may be cost-effective or cost-saving in reducing pneumonia incidence, though the economic benefits depend heavily on staff costs, hospital costs, and societal willingness to pay. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.INCREMENTAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

What question did this study set out to answer?

To evaluate the one-year cost-effectiveness of an oral hygiene staff-training intervention aimed at reducing pneumonia incidence in nursing home residents.

September 10, 2026Nursing ReportsOpen Access

Economic Evaluation of an Intervention to Improve Mouth Care and Reduce Pneumonia Incidence in Nursing Homes: An Exploratory Analysis

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Authors

SSSally C. Stearns JWJane A. Weintraub JPJohn S. Preisser

Discussion

Member takes

Overview

Randomized trial finds oral care training reduces pneumonia with variable cost-effectiveness in nursing home residents, indicating that economic value depends on societal willingness to pay.

Key Points

To evaluate the one-year cost-effectiveness of an oral hygiene staff-training intervention aimed at reducing pneumonia incidence in nursing home residents.
Conducted a post hoc economic evaluation using first-year data from a pragmatic cluster randomized trial across 14 nursing homes (N=1605 residents).
Calculated the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of costs (staff training, mouth care delivery time, and pneumonia-related hospitalizations) relative to pneumonia cases averted using bootstrapping.
The probability that the oral hygiene intervention was cost-saving ranged from 6.5% to 61.1%, depending on staff benefit calculations and hospital cost estimates.
The probability that the intervention decreased pneumonia cases while increasing net overall costs ranged from 32.0% to 86.6%.

Cite This Study

Stearns et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6aa27c4958559d80afc75feb https://doi.org/10.3390/nursrep16090330

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September 10, 2026Nursing ReportsOpen Access

Economic Evaluation of an Intervention to Improve Mouth Care and Reduce Pneumonia Incidence in Nursing Homes: An Exploratory Analysis

View Full Paper

Ask AI

Bookmark

Authors

SSSally C. Stearns JWJane A. Weintraub JPJohn S. Preisser

Discussion

Member takes

Overview

Randomized trial finds oral care training reduces pneumonia with variable cost-effectiveness in nursing home residents, indicating that economic value depends on societal willingness to pay.

Key Points

To evaluate the one-year cost-effectiveness of an oral hygiene staff-training intervention aimed at reducing pneumonia incidence in nursing home residents.
Conducted a post hoc economic evaluation using first-year data from a pragmatic cluster randomized trial across 14 nursing homes (N=1605 residents).
Calculated the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of costs (staff training, mouth care delivery time, and pneumonia-related hospitalizations) relative to pneumonia cases averted using bootstrapping.
The probability that the oral hygiene intervention was cost-saving ranged from 6.5% to 61.1%, depending on staff benefit calculations and hospital cost estimates.
The probability that the intervention decreased pneumonia cases while increasing net overall costs ranged from 32.0% to 86.6%.

Cite This Study

Stearns et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6aa27c4958559d80afc75feb https://doi.org/10.3390/nursrep16090330

View Full Paper

Ask AI

Bookmark