Cross-cultural adaptation of the Paediatric Oral Health-related Quality of Life (POQL) tool in South Africa

Abstract

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES : To translate and adapt a paediatric oral health-related quality of life (POQL) questionnaire into the South African languages of Sepedi, IsiZulu and Afrikaans. METHODS : The POQL-version: Parent-Report-on-child was translated twice into local languages. Translated-versions were revised and back translated into English by the different language-experts. A pre-final draft South African-version of POQL was tested on parents at the Pretoria Oral & Dental Hospital (n=94). Impact-scores were calculated, chi-squared and t-tests were used to determine construct validity. Principal component analysis was used to determine structural validity. RESULTS : Responses were recorded in a 5-Likert-type scaling but could not be replicated in the manner of the original-tool. Seventy percent of responding parents were female and 53% were employed with significant differences between male (62%) and female (38%), (p < 0.05). The male-parents were significantly older (40-yrs. vs. 35-yrs.; p<0.05). Most (61%) children had consulted the hospital for ‘nonemergency’ care. Internal consistency in the pre-final version was good with a Cronbach ᾱ -score of 0.91. Component analysis of the pre-final SA-tool, produced multiple different dimensions when compared with the 4-dimensions of the original tool in the American setting. CONCLUSIONS : The piloted pre-final SA version displayed good internal consistency yet had weaknesses with content, structural and construct validity.