The oral health assessment tool--validity and reliability

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Dental Public Health
• Nursing

Background:

• The Oral Health Assessment Tool (OHAT) was developed as part of the Best Practice Oral Health Model for Australian Residential Care study.
• It serves as a simple, eight-category screening tool for institutional carers to assess the oral health of residents, including those with dementia.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the reliability and validity of the Oral Health Assessment Tool (OHAT).
• To assess the intra- and inter-carer reliability and concurrent validity of the OHAT in residential care settings.

Main Methods:

• A convenience sample of 21 residential care facilities (RCFs) across urban and rural Australia participated.
• The OHAT was administered at baseline, three months, and six months to assess reliability and validity.
• Data included intra-carer and inter-carer reliability metrics (percent agreement, Kappa statistics, ICC) and concurrent validity analyses.

Main Results:

• High intra-carer reliability (ICC=0.78) and inter-carer reliability (ICC=0.74) were observed for OHAT total scores.
• Kappa statistics indicated moderate to substantial agreement for most OHAT categories (0.48-0.80).
• Validity analyses showed high agreement for lips, natural teeth, dentures, and tongue, with moderate agreement for gums.

Conclusions:

• The Oral Health Assessment Tool (OHAT) demonstrates good reliability and validity for screening oral health in residential care.
• It is suitable for use by institutional carers, including those caring for residents with cognitive impairments such as dementia.