Daniela Goursand

Cross-cultural adaptation of the Child Perceptions Questionnaire 11–14 (CPQ11–14) for the Brazilian Portuguese language

BackgroundOral-Health-Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) instruments are being used with increasing frequency in oral health surveys. However, these instruments are not available in all countries or all languages. The availability of cross-culturally valid, multi-lingual versions of instruments is important for epidemiological research. The Child Perceptions Questionnaire 11–14 (CPQ11–14) is an OHRQoL instrument that assesses the impact of oral conditions on the quality of life of children and adolescents. The objective of the current study was to carry out the cross-cultural adaptation of CPQ11–14 for the Brazilian Portuguese language.MethodsAfter translation and cross-cultural adaptation, the CPQ 11–14 was tested on 160 11-to-14-year-old children who were clinically and radiographically examined for the presence or absence of dental caries. The children were receiving dental care at the Pediatric Dental and Orthodontic clinics of the Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil. To test the quality of the translation, 17 children answered the questionnaire. The internal consistency of the instrument was assessed by Cronbachs Alpha Coefficient and the test-retest reliability by Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC).ResultsThe mean CPQ11–14 score were 24.5 [standard deviation (SD) 18.27] in the group with caries and 12.89 [SD 10.95] in the group without caries. Median scores were 20 and 10 in the groups with and without caries, respectively (p < 0.001). Significant associations were identified between caries status and all CPQ domains (p < 0.05). Internal reliability was confirmed by a Cronbachs alpha coefficient of 0.86. Test-retest reliability revealed satisfactory reproducibility (ICC = 0.85). The questionnaire proved to be a valid instrument. Construct validity was satisfactory, demonstrating highly significant correlations with global indicators for the total scale and subscales. The CPQ11–14 score was able to discriminate between different oral conditions (groups without and with untreated caries).ConclusionThe present study demonstrated that the CPQ11–14 is applicable to children in Brazil. It has satisfactory psychometric properties, but further research is required to evaluate these properties in a population study.

Prevalence and associated factors of traumatic dental injuries in Brazilian schoolchildren.

OBJECTIVES This study investigated the prevalence of traumatic dental injury (TDI) and associated factors in the permanent incisors of Brazilian schoolchildren. METHODS A cross-sectional survey was carried out with 1,612 male and female children aged 11 to 14 attending public and private elementary schools in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. A multistage sampling technique was adopted to select the children. Oral examinations were performed by calibrated examiners for the diagnosis of TDI (criteria proposed by Andreasen) and dental caries [Decayed, Missing and Filled Teeth Index (DMFT)]. The Social Vulnerability Index was used for socioeconomic classification. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics and the Poisson regression model. RESULTS The prevalence of TDI was 17.1%. Falls (43.6%) were the most common cause of TDI, mainly at home (41.8%). Boys were more affected than girls. There was no statistically significant association between TDI and socioeconomic status. The adjusted results revealed that TDI was significantly associated with DMFT [1.11, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.06 to 1.16] and overjet (1.15, 95% CI: 1.00 to 1.31). CONCLUSIONS TDI was associated with dental caries and overjet and was not influenced by socioeconomic status.

Measuring parental-caregiver perceptions of child oral health-related quality of life

The Parental-Caregiver Perceptions Questionnaire (P-CPQ) is an instrument that assesses a parents or a caregivers perceptions regarding the impact of childrens oral health status on quality of life. The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Brazilian version of the P-CPQ. Following translation and cross-cultural adaptation, the P-CPQ was tested on 123 parents and caregivers of children between 11 and 14 years of age with dental caries and malocclusions. The parents/caregivers were recruited at dental clinics of the Federal University of Minas Gerais, where their children were receiving dental care. Psychometric properties were assessed through internal consistency, test-retest reliability, construct validity and discriminant validity. The mean P-CPQ score was 13.01 (SD=12.14) for the dental caries group and 16.57 (SD=13.13) for the malocclusion group. Internal reliability was confirmed by a Cronbachs alpha coefficient of 0.84. Test-retest reliability revealed satisfactory reproducibility (ICC=0.83). Construct validity was satisfactory, demonstrating significant correlations between global indicators and the total scale. The P-CPQ score was able to discriminate between different parental/caregiver perceptions of oral conditions in their children (dental caries and malocclusion). The results for the Brazilian version of the P-CPQ confirm that this questionnaire is a reliable and valid instrument to assess parental perceptions on the impact that oral health status has on childrens life quality.

Cross-cultural adaptation and psychometric properties of the Brazilian version of the scale of oral health outcomes for 5-year-old children (SOHO-5)

BackgroundMost of the instruments available to measure the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in paediatric populations focus on older children, whereas parental reports are used for very young children. The scale of oral health outcomes for 5-year-old children (SOHO-5) assesses the OHRQoL of very young children through self-reports and parental proxy reports. We aimed to cross-culturally adapt the SOHO-5 to the Brazilian Portuguese language and to assess its reliability and validity.FindingsWe tested the quality of the cross-cultural adaptation in 2 pilot studies with 40 children aged 5–6 years and their parents. The measurement was tested for reliability and validity on 193 children that attended the paediatric dental screening program at the University of São Paulo. The children were also clinically examined for dental caries. The internal consistency was demonstrated by a Cronbachs alpha coefficient of 0.90 for the children’s self-reports and 0.77 for the parental proxy reports. The test-retest reliability results, which were based on repeated administrations on 159 children, were excellent; the intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.98 for parental and 0.92 for child reports. In general, the construct validity was satisfactory and demonstrated consistent and strong associations between the SOHO-5 and different subjective global ratings of oral health, perceived dental treatment need and overall well-being in both the parental and children’s versions (p < 0.001). The SOHO-5 was also able to clearly discriminate between children with and without a history of dental caries (mean scores: 5.8 and 1.1, respectively; p < 0.001).ConclusionThe present study demonstrated that the SOHO-5 exhibits satisfactory psychometric properties and is applicable to 5- to 6-year-old children in Brazil.

Academic trajectories of dental researchers receiving CNPq's productivity grants

The present study analyzed the profile of dental researchers receiving grants related to their productivity in research from the Brazilian National Research and Development Council (CNPq). Data collection was carried out in March 2008, using the Brazilian database for curriculum vitae (Lattes Format). There were 144 researchers registered in the database and linked to 25 institutions. These researchers published a total of 12,997 full-text articles, 6,927 of which were published in the last 5 years. Category 1 grant holders (n=77) were responsible for 53.5% of this production; Category 2 grant holders (n=65) were responsible for 45.1%; Senior grant holders (n=2) were responsible for 1.4%. Regarding institutional affiliation, 90.3% of the research grants holders develop activities at public institutions and 9.7% develop activities in private institutions. Furthermore, 84.0% of the researchers are linked to institutions located in the southeast region of Brazil and 75.0% of the researchers perform their activities in the state of São Paulo. This study performed a mapping of the distribution of CNPq researchers, revealing a concentration in the southeast region of the country, especially in the state of São Paulo. The findings of the present study also demonstrate the important contribution of grant holders to the scientific production in dentistry in Brazil.