Oral health as predictors of family functioning: A cross-cultural adaptation and validation of Hindi version of family impact scale - A cross-sectional study

Background: The effect of individuals oral disease patterns on the family has been too little explored. Despite awareness of the importance of the family unit for personal health and health care system, the family unit has been infrequently studied from the public health point of view. Objective: The specific aim of the study was to evaluate children's oral health as predictors of family functioning and to validate psychometric properties of Hindi version of family impact scale among 12-15-year-olds. Material and methods: A total of 225 parent-child pair participated in the study. A cross-cultural translation, adaptation and validation of Hindi version of family impact scale (FIS) was conducted. Test-retest reliability was assessed by the intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) using a two-way mixed-effect model. Discriminant validity was verified by family impact scores among parent-child pair with and without oral diseases. Construct validity was corroborated by association between the scale scores with global indicators of oral health and overall well-being. Clinical examinations were conducted using modified WHO criteria (1997). Influence of independent variables on the FIS were assessed using regression analysis. Results: Mean impact score was 25.16 +/- 5.96 with almost non-existent floor effect (4%) and no ceiling effect in the population. Inter Class Correlation for FIS scale was 0.86 indicating perfect agreement. Parents of children with dental caries and poor oral hygiene reported higher overall FIS scores (p < 0.01). Child's general and oral health rating significantly affected the FIS scores respectively (OR 1.55, 1.01-2.35; p = 0.02 and OR 1.32, 1.13-2.31; p = 0.04). Conclusions: This study provides evidence that oral disorders have a significant impact on family functioning. The Hindi version of the FIS exhibited good psychometric properties, with acceptable validity and reliability. Future research needs to explore the consequences of higher family impact scores and focus on strategies to reduce the impacts of oral conditions on the family. (C) 2021 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Japanese Society of Pediatric Dentistry.