Abstract

The need for culturally validated measures of Oral Health-Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) has been increasing in recent years.

Objectives: To adapt the Child-Oral Impacts on Daily Performances (C-OIDP) index into the Nepali language and to validate it, to assess and compare the outcomes of self-reported oral problems, and to validate a structured questionnaire on general hygiene practices, oral hygiene practices, dietary habits, and use of tobacco.

Basic research design: A school-based cross-sectional study on pilot and national samples.

Participants: Nepalese schoolchildren representing WHO index age groups (5–6-year-olds, 12-year-olds, and 15-year-olds). The study was conducted on a pilot sample (n=128) selected conveniently and a national sample (n=1,052), selected from 18 sampling sites on the basis of the stratified random sampling method

Main outcome measures: Adapted and validated Nepali C-OIDP

Results: The Nepali C-OIDP showed excellent validation and reliability tests in both studies. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were 0.82 and 0.71 respectively in the pilot and national study. The most common self-reported oral problem was toothache, which was statistically significantly higher in the national sample.

Conclusions: The Nepali C-OIDP index is valid and reliable for measuring oral impacts on daily performance among schoolchildren of Nepal.