Measuring parental perceptions of child oral health-related quality of life.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate the P-CPQ, a measure of parental/caregiver perceptions of the oral health-related quality of life of children. This forms one component of the Child Oral Health Quality of Life Questionnaire (COHQOL).


METHODS
An item pool was developed through a review of existing child health questionnaires and interviews with parents/caregivers of children with pedodontic, orthodontic, and orofacial conditions. The resulting 47 items were used in a study in which 208 parents/caregivers provided data on their frequency and importance. The 31 items rated the most frequent and important were selected for the final questionnaire (P-CPQ). The P-CPQ validity and reliability were assessed by a new sample of 231 parents, 79 of whom completed two copies for the assessment of test-retest reliability.


RESULTS
The P-CPQ discriminated among the three clinical groups included in the expected direction. Within-group analyses using clinical data provided some evidence that scores were associated with the severity of the condition. The P-CPQ also showed good construct validity. It had excellent internal consistency reliability with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.94 and demonstrated perfect test-retest reliability (ICC=0.85).


CONCLUSIONS
The study provides data to indicate that the P-CPQ is valid and reliable.
Jokovic
Aleksandra
A
Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto, 124 Edward Street, Toronto, Ontario M5 G 1G6, Canada. aleksandra.jokovic@utoronto.ca
Locker
David
D
Stephens
Marlene
M
Kenny
David
D
Tompson
Bryan
B
Guyatt
Gordon
G
D000293:Adolescent; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior; D004068:Digestive System Physiological Phenomena; D016002:Discriminant Analysis; D004644:Emotions; D005219:Father-Child Relations; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009059:Mouth Diseases / Q000523:psychology; D009909:Oral Health; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012931:Social Environment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires