Psychometric properties of the Brazilian version of the Oral Health Impact Profile-short form.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the study is to evaluate the measurement properties of the Brazilian version of the short form of the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP14).

METHODS

Data were obtained from a cross-sectional study designed to assess the impact of toothache on quality of life during pregnancy. The sample consisted of 504 postpartum women (mean age 24 years; SD 6.2), most of whom had unsolved dental problems and belonged to low-income families. The questionnaire was administered in the form of interviews by two trained interviewers who also performed clinical examinations. Reliability was assessed in terms of internal consistency and stability. Construct validity was evaluated based on comparison of the total scores among groups according to: self-perceived and normative oral health care needs, self-perceived general and oral health status, presence of carious lesions and tooth loss. It was also hypothesized that the scores of OHIP14 and Oral Impacts on Daily Performances (OIDP) would correlate with each other.

RESULTS

Both test-retest stability and internal consistency, as measured by the intra-class correlation coefficient (0.87) and by Cronbach's alpha (0.91), proved to be adequate. Construct validity was confirmed as the correlation between OHIP14 scores with self-perceived general and oral health were in the expected direction, and the differences in scores of the groups formed according to the selected attributes were significant at values of P < or = 0.05 (Mann-Whitney test). Moreover, the correlation coefficient between OIDP and OHIP14 was 0.76 (rs).

CONCLUSION

The Brazilian version of OHIP14 has good psychometric properties, which are similar to those of the original instrument.