Psychometric Properties of the Schizophrenia Oral Health Profile: Preliminary Results

The Schizophrenia Oral Health Profile questionnaire was developed to assess the oral health-related quality of life among individuals with schizophrenia based on their perceptions rather than from caregivers. A 5-point Likert scale was used to self-report on 42 items. In the present study, different analyses were conducted to determine the dimensional structure of the final scale: (1) inter-item correlation analysis and Cronbach's alpha coefficient, (2) Rasch model analysis, (3) exploratory factor analysis and (4) confirmatory factor analysis. The final version of the Schizophrenia Oral Health Profile questionnaire consisted of 20 items and an internal structure composed of three dimensions: (1) emotions related to oral health, (2) oral pain and discomfort and (3) self-image, others' views and the need for care. We showed that the difficulty and discrimination indices of each of the 20 selected items were acceptable according to the Rasch model, as well as their inter-item and inter-score correlations (alpha = 0.875). The psychometric study of the Schizophrenia Oral Health Profile questionnaire is still in progress to investigate reproducibility, sensitivity to change and external structure.