title: A Brief Report on the Development of The Usability of Sleep Apnea Equipment-Oral Appliance (USE-OA) Questionnaire: A Pilot Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To develop a questionnaire for measuring human factors (usability) associated with oral appliance use and to assess the feasibility of administering the questionnaire to patients with obstructive sleep apnea in a clinic setting.
  
  
  METHODS
  We developed the 11-item Usability of Sleep Apnea Equipment-Oral Appliance (USE-OA) Questionnaire by adapting items from a published questionnaire that had been developed to assess human factors associated with positive airway pressure device use. Then we distributed the USE-OA to patients at a university dental clinic between January and July 2014. We evaluated our survey methods qualitatively, calculated the response rate, and assessed completeness and response patterns of the USE-OA.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Our formative evaluation revealed that the questionnaire was easy to distribute and administer in a clinic setting. Our response rate was 23%. A majority of respondents gave favorable usability ratings, and a small number of respondents gave unfavorable usability ratings.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The USE-OA questionnaire can be easily administered in a dental clinic setting. Additional studies conducted in high-volume sleep oral appliance clinics are needed to assess the psychometric properties of the USE-OA and to compare the results of the USE-OA to direct observation of patients getting their oral appliance ready for use and cleaning their oral appliance.
authors.affiliation: David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA.
authors.forename: Constance H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Fung
authors.affiliation: David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA.
authors.forename: Jennifer L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.affiliation: UCLA School of Dentistry, Los Angeles, CA.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Merrill
authors.affiliation: David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA.
authors.forename: Cathy
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Alessi
keywords: human engineering; orthodontic appliances; sleep apnea syndromes