Validation of the Hong Kong Oral Health Literacy Assessment Task for paediatric dentistry (HKOHLAT-P).
BACKGROUND
Oral health literacy is a newly emerging field with considerable research potential.


OBJECTIVE
To validate an original instrument, the Hong Kong Oral Health Literacy Assessment Task (HKOHLAT-P) for paediatric dentistry.


METHODS
A convenient sample of 200 child/parent dyads attending a dental hospital in Hong Kong was selected. Convergent validity was tested by examining the association of HKOHLAT-P scores with those derived from the Test of Functional Health Literacy in Dentistry (TOFHLiD) and Hong Kong Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Dentistry (HKREALD-30). The predictive validity of HKOHLAT-P was determined by testing the association between HKOHLAT-P and children's caries experience (dmft) and the Chinese Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (ECOHIS). The test-retest reliability and internal consistency of HKOHLAT-P were also evaluated.


RESULTS
HKOHLAT-P was positively correlated with TOFHLiD and HKREALD-30 (P < 0.01), and was negatively correlated with children's dmft and ECOHIS. In the regression model, HKOHLAT-P was associated with TOFHLiD, HKEALD-30, children's dmft, and ECOHIS (P < 0.05) after controlling for participants' demographic characteristics. The intra-class correlation coefficient of HKOHLAT-P was 0.63 and the Cronbach's α was 0.71.


CONCLUSIONS
Initial testing of HKOHLAT-P suggested that it is a valid and reliable instrument.
Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. wonghmg@hkucc.hku.hk
Hai Ming
HM
Wong
Susan M
SM
Bridges
Cynthia K Y
CK
Yiu
Colman P J
CP
McGrath
Terry K
TK
Au
Divya S
DS
Parthasarathy
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D057220:Health Literacy; D006723:Hong Kong; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009909:Oral Health / Q000193:education*; D010290:Parents / Q000193:education*; D010377:Pediatric Dentistry; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires