A Comparison of Three Child OHRQoL Measures

Abstract

Comparing oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) measures can facilitate selecting the most appropriate one for a particular research question/setting. Three child OHRQoL measures Child Perceptions Questionnaire (CPQ11–14), the Child Oral Health Impact Profile (COHIP) and the Caries Impacts and Experiences Questionnaire for Children (CARIES-QC) were used with 335 10- to 13-year-old participants in a supervised tooth-brushing programme in New Zealand. The use of global questions enabled their validity to be examined. Assessments were conducted at baseline and after 12 months. All three measures had acceptable internal consistency reliability. There were moderate, positive correlations among their scores, and all showed differences in the impact of dental caries on OHRQoL, with children with the highest caries experience having the highest scale scores. Effect sizes were used to assess meaningful change. The CPQ11–14 and the CARIES-QC showed meaningful change. The COHIP-SF score showed no meaningful change. Among children reporting improved OHRQoL, baseline and follow-up scores differed significantly for the CPQ11–14 and CARIES-QC measures, although not for the COHIP-SF. The three scales were broadly similar in their conceptual basis, reliability and validity, but responsiveness of the COHIP-SF was questionable, and the need to compute two different scores for the CARIES-QC meant that its administrative burden was considerably greater than for the other two measures. Replication and use of alternative approaches to measuring meaningful change are suggested.

Atraumatic restorative treatments improve child oral health‐related quality of life: A noninferiority randomized controlled trial

“…Both the ECOHIS and the CARIES-QC have been evaluated among various populations and have been shown to be valid and reliable. 23,24 Although a comparison of the ECOHIS and the Child Perception Questionnaire [11][12][13][14] suggests that the ECOHIS may not adequately reflect the impacts on the family, both scales were deemed to be comparable in determining changes in COHRQoL associated with caries treatment. 25 Given that both scales may be comparable for assessing changes associated with caries treatment and that the ECOHIS had been validated for the study's target population, 23 the ECOHIS was chosen for this study.…”

“…The smallest change was in the child social domain for both groups. Although the ECOHIS and the CARIES-QC have been noted to have weaknesses in evaluating COHRQoL changes following ECC treatment 24,25 the decision to use the scales in this study was based on a number of factors. Firstly, the ECOHIS has been tested and used extensively for use among young children and had been validated for the target population of this study.…”

“…22 Unfortunately, the findings from a study, which found the burden of calculating the score in CARIES-QC made it overly complicated for routine use, was unavailable at the time of undertaking this study. 24 The pragmatic design of this study, while having strengths, also had limitations. In this instance, some children in the DGA arm had still not undergone treatment by the time follow-up ceased, 25 months after consenting to participate.…”

Oral Health-Related Quality Of Life of Pre-School Children: Review and Perspectives for New Instruments

“…Although CARIES-QC is not yet an established scale, due to its recent development, this instrument would be appropriate for use in cross-sectional and longitudinal investigations, to evaluate the association between dental caries experience and OHRQoL (96). Future studies should assess the reliability and validity of the instrument with preschool children as a separate sample.…”

Patient‐reported Outcomes (PROs) in clinical trials in paediatric dentistry

“…The items included in this measure were developed with children with caries experience to ensure that the included items were relevant to those with caries to enable it to pick up subtle changes which might result from different interventions. It has been included in clinical trials in New Zealand and the UK and has been able to demonstrate change from the child's perspective 26,27 …”