Child Oral Health Impact Profile Questionnaire: A Reliability Generalization Meta-analysis of Cronbach's Alpha

To evaluate the pooled estimates of Cronbach's alpha for the Child Oral Health Impact Profile (COHIP) questionnaire using reliability generalization meta-analysis.

We have conducted a systematic search of literature from PubMed, Scopus, Excerpta Medica Database (EMBASE), and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) from inception till 31^st May 2023. Studies in English and those that have reported Cronbach's alpha for the COHIP questionnaire were included. Screening was performed by two review authors independently. Information on authors, year, country, sample size, age, sex, target population, language and mode of administration, conditions studied for, study setting, and study design were recorded. The risk of bias was assessed using the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) checklist for internal consistency. Meta-analysis was performed using the random effects model to derive a pooled estimate of Cronbach's alpha.

A total of 626 studies were available for title and abstract screening after the removal of duplicates, and 106 studies were included for full text screening. A total of 25 estimates were obtained from 22 studies which yielded a total sample size of 10,639. The overall pooled Cronbach's alpha was 0.87 (95% CI = 0.85-8.88) with a high heterogeneity among the included publications (I ² = 95.74%). Similarly, the parent or the caregiver reported COHIP also showed pooled Cronbach's alpha of 0.9 (95% CI: 0.87-0.93). Meta-regression showed no significant effect of sex (coefficient: -0.12), age (coefficient: -0.007), language (coefficient: 0.003), study setting (coefficient: -0.001), risk of bias (coefficient: -0.01), and continent (coefficient: -0.04) on the overall estimate.

The COHIP questionnaire showed good internal consistency and can be used in research and practice among children.

Pentapati KC, Chenna D, Kumar VS, et al. Child Oral Health Impact Profile Questionnaire: A Reliability Generalization Meta-analysis of Cronbach's Alpha. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2024;17(10):1193-1198.