Measurement Equivalence of "Touch-Screen" versus "Paper-Based" Assessments of OHRQoL: A Randomized Crossover Trial

To determine the measurement equivalence of computer touch screen assessment (CTSA) and paper based assessment (PBA) of the oral health impact profile (OHIP-14).

A randomized crossover trial was conducted. Sixty participants were randomized to either i) Arm A: completed CTSA then PBA of OHIP-14, or ii) Arm B: PBA and then CTSA of OHIP-14 within the same day. User preference and time taken to complete the assessments were recorded. Agreement between CTSA and PBA was determined using directional difference (DD), absolute difference (AD), and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC).

There was no significant difference in CTSA and PBA OHIP-14 scores (P>0.05). The magnitude of the DD in scores between assessment methods was small for overall scores and all domains (<0.3). The AD in OHIP-14 scores was small (~6% for overall score, between 8-16% for domains). Agreement between CTSA and PBA was high (ICC=0.9; 95% CI=0.8-0.9) for overall OHIP-14 scores, but ICC values varied across domains. Most (78%) preferred CTSA. There was no significant difference in time taken to complete assessments (P=0.09). Regression analyses did not identify any significant socio-demographic factor associated with absolute difference between CTSA and PBA scores.

There is equivalence of measurements in OHRQoL assessments from CTSA and PBA, and the time taken to complete assessment by either means is similar. There is a greater preference for CTSA. This has implications to support the use of CTSA in OHRQoL assessments.