Saub R, Locker D.
Department of Community Dentistry,
Faculty of Dentistry,
University of Malaya
Kuala Lumpur

Date: 25 October 2001
Time: 12.30-13.00

In line with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) definition of health, which is defined as “a complete state of physical, mental and social well being and not just the absence of illness”, measuring health should also incorporate functioning, well being and quality of life. Using this, together with disease measurement, a comprehensive picture of oral disorders can be captured. In general, there are two ways to develop health-related quality of life instrument for a different culture: to develop a totally new measurement or modify a previous measurement through a cross-cultural adaptation process. The ultimate goal for this study is to develop an Oral Health-Related Quality of Life measure for Malaysian adult population by adapting one of the existing instruments that has been developed in Australia by Slade and Spencer (1994). Two processes will be involved: translation and adaptation. Since culture will have a significant impact on the way concepts are expressed, translation alone will not be sufficient to ensure the validity of the measurement. Therefore the concept of equivalence is an important aspect in the cross-cultural adaptation process. Herdman et al (1998) developed a model of equivalence, on which is this study will be based. This model does not assume that a construct has the same dimensions and relations across cultures, and this is something, which needs to be examined before attempts are made to translate or adapt the instrument. Therefore qualitative methods are being used to establish conceptual and content equivalence and quantitative methods to establish the measurement equivalence.