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Piloting a patient-based questionnaire to assess patient satisfaction with the process of orthodontic treatment.

McNair A, Drage KJ, Ireland AJ, Sandy JR, Williams AC

Department of Orthodontics, Odstock Hospital, Salisbury, UK.

OBJECTIVE: To test the scientific properties of a patient-based questionnaire developed to measure adolescent patient's satisfaction with the process of orthodontic treatment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty-nine consecutive patients aged 9 to 17 years undergoing orthodontic treatment were asked to complete the questionnaire on two separate occasions. Test-retest reliability, readability, ease of administration, criterion validity, and construct validity were tested. All patients answered the questionnaire at time 1 and took part in the construct validity study. Ten patients took part in an ease of administration study and 17 patients took part in the criterion validity study. RESULTS: Thirty-one patients completed the questionnaire at time 2, giving a response rate of 63.3%. The test-retest reliability was excellent in one section, moderate in six sections, and poor in one. The questionnaire had a Flesch Reading Score of 79.8, equivalent to a reading age of 10 years and was easily administered in 5 to 15 minutes. Although the construct validity of the questionnaire was excellent in five of the six measures and moderate in the other, the criterion validity was poor for 7 of the 14 items selected to test. CONCLUSION: This pilot study demonstrates the need to test a questionnaire before use in audit or research.

Published 22 June 2009 in Angle Orthod, 79(4): 759-65.
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