Young adults' views on the relevance of three measures for oral health-related quality of life

• Published in: International journal of dental hygiene Vol. 13; no. 3; pp. 184 - 191
• Main Authors: Johansson, G, Söderfeldt, B, Östberg, A-L
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.08.2015
• Subjects: Activities of Daily Living; Adult; Age Factors; Attitude to Health; Cohort Studies; Dentistry; Educational Status; Esthetics, Dental; Female; Health Sciences; Humans; Hälsovetenskaper; Interpersonal Relations; Male; Mouth Diseases - psychology; Oral Health; Oral hygiene; Pain Measurement - methods; Qualitative Research; Quality of Life; questionnaires; Self Concept; Self Report; Sex Factors; Stress, Psychological - psychology; Tooth Diseases - psychology; Young Adult; Young adults; questionnaires; oral health; young adult; quality of life
• ISSN: 1601-5029; 1601-5037; 1601-5037
• DOI: 10.1111/idh.12107

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.