Construct validity of an instrument for assessing oral health-related quality of life of edentulous subjects

Abstract

The OHIP-EDENT is a questionnaire for the assessment of oral heath-related quality of life (OHRQoL) which was culturally adapted for Brazil. However, its validity needs to be further investigated. The aim of this project will be to investigate the construct validity of the Brazilian OHIP-EDENT as an outcome variable for studying edentulous patients. Three stages were planned: (I) A systematic review for verifying which questionnaires are employed for the assessment of OHRQoL in clinical trials about rehabilitation of edentulous patients. This stage will show if the validity of the original OHIP is really supported by previous studies. (II) A correlational study on patients searching treatment with complete dentures, for the assessment of convergent and discriminant validity. Convergent validity will be quantified by the correlation between OHIP-EDENT and results for denture satisfaction and the GOHAI questionnaire, whereas discriminant validity will be evaluated by the correlation between OHIP-EDENT and the results for the Hospital Anxiety and Depression questionnaire. (III) Factor analysis of results obtained by the OHIP-EDENT from complete denture wearers. The 3rd stage aims the development of new subscales for the Brazilian OHIP-EDENT and to verify their compatibility with the OHRQoL concept. (AU)