A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal

Effect of a 1-month vs a 12-month reference period on responses to the 14-item Oral Health Impact Profile




AuthorsSutinen S, Lahti S, Nuttall NM, Sanders AE, Steele JG, Allen PF, Slade GD

Publication year2007

JournalEuropean Journal of Oral Sciences

Journal name in sourceEuropean journal of oral sciences

Journal acronymEur J Oral Sci

Volume115

Issue3

First page 246

Last page9

Number of pages4

ISSN0909-8836

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0722.2007.00442.x


Abstract
The length of the reference period used in surveys of subjective oral health may have a marked influence on the responses obtained. We aimed to evaluate the effect of a 1-month (RP-1) vs. a 12-month (RP-12) reference period in the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) questionnaire. Using a randomized cross-over design, RP-1 and RP-12 OHIP-14 questionnaires were administered, 1 month apart, to two samples of Finnish adults, namely people awaiting orthognathic surgery (n = 104) and non-patient workers (n = 111). The effect of the reference period was computed by subtracting RP-1 OHIP-14 severity scores from RP-12 OHIP-14 severity scores (DeltaRP). Potential order effects were assessed by comparing DeltaRP between groups completing the RP-1 vs. the RP-12 questionnaire first. Mean OHIP-14 severity scores were slightly higher when the RP-12 questionnaire was administered first, but mean DeltaRP values were below the value of 2.5 considered clinically meaningful, and all 95% confidence intervals for DeltaRP included zero. No order effects in the OHIP-14 severity scores were observed. Therefore, although a standardized reference period of 12 months is recommended, in population surveys the use of a shorter reference period does not appear to influence responses.



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