Stefanie Krausch-Hofmann1, Johanna De Almeida Mello2, Dominique Declerck1, Anja Declercq2, Jan De Lepeleire3, Trung Dung Tran4, Emmanuel Lesaffre4, Joke Duyck5. 1. Department of Oral Health Sciences, KU Leuven Population Studies in Oral Health, Leuven, Belgium. 2. Centre for Care Research and Consultancy, KU Leuven LUCAS, Leuven, Belgium. 3. Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven Academic Centre for General Practice, Leuven, Belgium. 4. Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven Biostatistics and Statistical Bioinformatics Centre (L-BioStat), Leuven, Belgium. 5. Department of Oral Health Sciences, Biomaterials/BIOMAT, Leuven, Belgium.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To explore the failure of the oral health-related section of the interRAI (ohr-interRAI), this study investigated test content validity (A.) and reasons for inaccurate assessments (B.). BACKGROUND: Poor oral health negatively affects quality of life and is associated with a number of systemic diseases. The interRAI instruments, internationally used for geriatric assessment, should accurately detect oral conditions that require care. Previous research showed that the ohr-interRAI and related precursor versions do not achieve this goal. MATERIALS AND METHODS: (A.) A group of 12 experts rated completeness, relevance, clarity of wording and feasibility of the ohr-interRAI. Content validity indices were calculated per item (threshold 0.78). (B.) Focus group discussions with 23 caregivers were organized. A semi-structured question guide made sure that all topics of interest were covered. Qualitative content structuring analysis was applied after transcription. RESULTS: (A.) Experts agreed on the relevance of the items on chewing, pain, gingival inflammation and damaged teeth. They regarded none of the items as worded clearly and only prosthesis use and pain were considered to be assessable by untrained caregivers. All experts agreed that the ohr-interRAI was incomplete. (B.) Focus group discussions revealed that in the care environment oral health had low priority. Aspects related to the ohr-interRAI itself and aspects related to the assessment situation impeded the oral health assessment. The approach of the caregivers to complete the ohr-interRAI was inappropriate to accurately detect oral care needs. CONCLUSIONS: Findings challenge test content validity of the ohr-interRAI and reveal reasons for inaccurate assessments.
OBJECTIVES: To explore the failure of the oral health-related section of the interRAI (ohr-interRAI), this study investigated test content validity (A.) and reasons for inaccurate assessments (B.). BACKGROUND: Poor oral health negatively affects quality of life and is associated with a number of systemic diseases. The interRAI instruments, internationally used for geriatric assessment, should accurately detect oral conditions that require care. Previous research showed that the ohr-interRAI and related precursor versions do not achieve this goal. MATERIALS AND METHODS: (A.) A group of 12 experts rated completeness, relevance, clarity of wording and feasibility of the ohr-interRAI. Content validity indices were calculated per item (threshold 0.78). (B.) Focus group discussions with 23 caregivers were organized. A semi-structured question guide made sure that all topics of interest were covered. Qualitative content structuring analysis was applied after transcription. RESULTS: (A.) Experts agreed on the relevance of the items on chewing, pain, gingival inflammation and damaged teeth. They regarded none of the items as worded clearly and only prosthesis use and pain were considered to be assessable by untrained caregivers. All experts agreed that the ohr-interRAI was incomplete. (B.) Focus group discussions revealed that in the care environment oral health had low priority. Aspects related to the ohr-interRAI itself and aspects related to the assessment situation impeded the oral health assessment. The approach of the caregivers to complete the ohr-interRAI was inappropriate to accurately detect oral care needs. CONCLUSIONS: Findings challenge test content validity of the ohr-interRAI and reveal reasons for inaccurate assessments.
Authors: Stefanie Krausch-Hofmann; Trung Dung Tran; Dominique Declerck; Johanna de Almeida Mello; Anja Declercq; Emmanuel Lesaffre; Jan De Lepeleire; Joke Duyck Journal: BMC Oral Health Date: 2020-07-03 Impact factor: 2.757