Psychometric properties of the Albanian version of chewing-function questionnaire CFQ-ALB

The new Chewing Function Questionnaire (CFQ) was lately developed in Croatia to measure the chewing ability in prosthodontic patients, as a one-dimensional instrument consisting of 10-items. Therefore, the objective of this study was to develop an Albanian version of the CFQ questionnaire and to test its psychometric properties in a new typical environment among the Kosovo population.

The original version of CFQ questionnaire was translated and cross-culturally adapted from the English language into Albanian in accordance with international guidelines. Its validity (construct, convergent and discriminative) and internal consistency (reliability) were tested in 205 participants. Test-retest reliability was evaluated in 61 subjects with natural teeth, and responsiveness was evaluated in 51 prosthodontic patients with treatment needs.

Internal consistency of CFQ-ALB indicated excellent agreement, with Cronbach's alpha values of 0.974 and average inter-item correlation of 0.792. Intraclass correlation coeficinets for test-retest were found without significant differences by 95 % of confidence intervals (p > 0.05). Construct validity was supported by a single factor that accounted for 81.711 % of the variance observed. Convergent validity was supported by the association between self-reported general satisfactions with chewing and CFQ summary scores. Discriminat validity was supported as statistically significant differences were observed between pre-defined groups. Responsiveness was confirmed by the significant difference between baseline summary scores and the after treatment scores; the mean change was 15.57 (SD =2.49) (p < 0.001).

The obtained results suggest excellent psychometric properties of the CFQ-ALB questionnaire for determining chewing function in the Republic of Kosovo.