Young adults' views on the relevance of three measures for oral health-related quality of life.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to explore the views of young adults on the relevance of three measures of oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL).


METHODS
Sixteen young adults aged 21-29 years were interviewed. The selection was strategic with reference to age (21-25 years.; 26-30 years), sex and education (university degree; upper secondary school). The interview guide covered areas on the content and construction of the measures: The Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP), the Oral Impacts on Daily Performances (OIDP) and the Oral Health-Related Quality of Life UK (OHRQoL-UK). The data were analysed using qualitative content analysis.


RESULTS
A theme expressing the latent content was formulated during the data analysis: 'young adults' own experiences were reflected in their views on the OHRQoL measures'; that is, the experiences of young adults of own oral problems and aspects that were found to be especially important for their age group influenced their view on the measures. The self-reported ability to understand and answer the questions varied and the perceived advantages and disadvantages were almost equally distributed among the three measures.


CONCLUSIONS
The OHIP, OIDP and OHRQoL-UK were evaluated as being equal by the young adults in this study, with regard both to their pros and cons. The clarity of the measures was regarded as the most important factor, while the length and assessment period were less significant.
School of Social and Health Sciences, Halmstad University, Halmstad, Sweden.|Department of Periodontology and Oral Public Health, Faculty of Odontology, Malmö University, Malmö, Sweden.
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Johansson
Department of Periodontology and Oral Public Health, Faculty of Odontology, Malmö University, Malmö, Sweden.
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Söderfeldt
Department of Behavioural and Community Dentistry, Institution of Odontology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.|Public Dental Service, Region Västra Götaland, Götaland, Sweden.
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Östberg
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001294:Attitude to Health; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004522:Educational Status; D004955:Esthetics, Dental; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D009059:Mouth Diseases / Q000523:psychology; D009909:Oral Health; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000379:methods; D036301:Qualitative Research; D011788:Quality of Life; D012649:Self Concept; D057566:Self Report; D012737:Sex Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology; D014076:Tooth Diseases / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult
oral health; quality of life; questionnaires; young adult