Validation of the Child-Oral-Health-Impact-Profile among adolescents in Johannesburg: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Oral health-related quality of life (OHRQol) is described as the effect of oral conditions on the overall functioning and well-being of individuals.

Aim: This study sought to determine the validity of a modified-child oral health impact profile (M-COHIP) among adolescents living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection (ALHIV) and HIV-undiagnosed adolescents and establish the factors influencing OHRQoL among adolescents in central Johannesburg.

Setting: Schools and HIV wellness centre in central Johannesburg.

Methods: An interviewer-administered questionnaire was applied, followed by an oral examination.

Results: A total of 504 adolescents were included in the study. The overall mean decayed teeth for permanent dentition was 1.6 (standard deviation [s.d.]: 1.99) and caries prevalence was 62.2% (n = 309). The tool’s Cronbach’s alpha was 0.88. The item-rest correlations were from 0.6 to 0.85 for all items. The initial exploratory factor analysis explained 76% of the total variance. The overall M-COHIP score was 59.6 (18.2). The overall modified-COHIP scores for those not in care (schools) were higher [62.88] than those of ALHIV. The poor M-COHIP scores were associated with reporting toothache, having active decay, poor oral health-self-rating, and being selected from the school site (p < 0.005).

Conclusion: The validation study supports the use of the tool as a reliable and valid measure of OHRQoL. Future research can investigate the extent to which the tool is effective in measuring treatment outcomes and patient satisfaction.

Contribution: The validated tool will be beneficial in the African context for programme assessments and overall measure of quality-of-life impacts from oral conditions.