Assessing the oral health of an ageing population: methods, challenges and predictors of survey participation

Abstract

Assessing the oral health of an ageing population: methods, challenges and predictors of survey participationObjectivesTo examine predictors of participation and to describe the methodological considerations of conducting a two-stage population-based oral health survey.MethodsAn observational, cross-sectional survey (telephone interview and clinical oral examination) of community-dwelling adults aged 45–64 and ≥65 living in Nova Scotia, Canada was conducted.ResultsThe survey response rate was 21% for the interview and 13.5% for the examination. A total of 1141 participants completed one or both components of the survey. Both age groups had higher levels of education than the target population; the age 45–64 sample also had a higher proportion of females and lower levels of employment than the target population. Completers (participants who completed interview and examination) were compared with partial completers (who completed only the interview), and stepwise logistic regression was performed to examine predictors of completion. Identified predictors were as follows: not working, post-secondary education and frequent dental visits.ConclusionRecruitment, communications and logistics present challenges in conducting a province-wide survey. Identification of employment, education and dental visit frequency as predictors of survey participation provide insight into possible non-response bias and suggest potential for underestimation of oral disease prevalence in this and similar surveys. This potential must be considered in analysis and in future recruitment strategies.

Lower Protein Intake Mediates Association Between Lower Occlusal Force and Slower Walking Speed: From the Septuagenarians, Octogenarians, Nonagenarians Investigation with Centenarians Study

“…Before considering the findings, it is appropriate to consider the weaknesses and strengths of this study. One weakness was that the participation rate (20.4%) was slightly lower than that seen in similar studies (21.0%, 25.0%), although grip strength and walking speed were similar to observations from a previous study on older community‐dwelling Japanese adults . In addition, the average number of teeth in septuagenarians (20.7) and octogenarians (15.3) was similar to the estimates of number of teeth for the same age groups (19.5 and 13.0, respectively) from the 2011 Survey of Dental Diseases by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare.…”

The oral health of ageing baby boomers: a comparison of adults aged 45–64 and those 65 years and older

“…Details of recruitment outcomes and an analysis of predictors of participation have been previously described. In all, 747 community‐dwelling adults completed both the clinical examination and the questionnaire ( n = 411; age 45–64; n = 336; age 65 or older).…”

“…A quarter had an annual household income under $30,000 CAD. As described in Matthews et al ,. the 45‐ to 64‐year‐old sample had a higher proportion of women, higher education levels and lower levels of employment than the target provincial population, while the ≥65‐year‐old sample had higher education levels and more married individuals than the target population.…”

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“…The difficulties in recruiting participants with a variety of disorders, including chronic diseases, owing to problems making initial contact with prospective participants are well documented ( 40 – 44 ). In a large study investigating oral health in adults ≥45 years of age, Matthews et al ( 45 ) obtained a telephone interview response rate of 21%. In 2007, Galea and Tracy ( 46 ) reported that participation rates for epidemiological studies had been declining during the previous 30 years, with even steeper declines in recent years.…”