Published in:
Open Access 01-12-2014 | Research article
Validation of the Turkish version of the Liverpool Oral Rehabilitation Questionnaire version 3 (LORQv3) in prosthetically rehabilitated patients with head and neck cancer
Published in: BMC Oral Health | Issue 1/2014
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Background
The Liverpool Oral Rehabilitation Questionnaire version 3 (LORQv3) is a measure assessing the impact of oral rehabilitation on patients’ health-related quality of life (HRQOL).The aims of the study were to adapt culturally the LORQv3 for Turkish-speaking head and neck cancer patients who had undergone prosthetic rehabilitation and to undertake an initial investigation of its psychometric properties.
Methods
The Turkish version of the LORQv3 was translated and culturally adapted into Turkish, and tested on a sample of 46 head and neck cancer patients who had undergone prosthetic rehabilitation at a university clinic. Patients were categorized into three groups: Patients with maxillary obturator prostheses treated by surgery alone (n = 15); Patients with maxillary obturator prostheses treated by surgery plus radiotherapy, with or without chemotherapy (n = 23); and, Nasopharyngeal cancer patients without maxillary defects wearing conventional dental prostheses who had been treated by radiotherapy with or without chemotherapy (n = 8). Data were collected through clinical examinations and self-reported questionnaires, including socio-demographic characteristics, the LORQv3, and the University of Washington Quality of Life questionnaire version 4 (UW-QOLv4). The psychometric evaluation included validity (content, face, construct, and criterion) and reliability (internal consistency and test-retest).
Results
All sections of the LORQv3 showed satisfactory internal consistency, with Cronbach’s alpha between 0.71 to 0.82. Kappa statistics showed moderate to perfect test-retest reliability for the 33 LORQv3 items. We found significant negative correlations between the LORQv3 and the UW-QOL v4 for some related items. The LORQv3 also identified differences in responses among patient groups, supporting its construct and criterion validity.
Conclusions
This study provides initial evidence in support of the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of LORQv3 in prosthetically rehabilitated patients with head and neck cancer; it could be used in clinical practice in Turkey.