Knowledge and practice of Iranian prosthodontists regarding the diagnosis and treatment of sleep apnea: Design and development of a questionnaire

BACKGROUND: The present study was conducted to develop a standard questionnaire to assess the knowledge and practice of prosthodontists regarding the diagnosis and treatment of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSA). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study had questionnaire designing and cross-sectional-descriptive phases. Questionnaire domains were identified by a panel of eight experts. The face and content validity of the questionnaire was assessed by experts and four laypeople. The internal consistency reliability of the questionnaire was checked using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Moreover, its stability was tested using the test–retest method. The questionnaire was completed online by 282 Iranian prosthodontists and the relationship between different variables and scores of knowledge and practice of them with simple and multiple linear regression tests was were analyzed. RESULTS: A 32-item questionnaire was designed. The Scale Content Validity Index was >0.8 for clarity, simplicity, and necessity in all domains and the content validity of all questions was above 0.8. As for reliability, Cronbach's alpha coefficient was above 0.7 on average. Faculty members had more knowledge (P = 0.04) and better practice (P = 0.001) compared to others. Prosthodontists who participated in sleep disorders training courses had higher scores in knowledge (P = 0.001) and practice (P = 0.001). Prosthodontists who referred patients to sleep disorders clinics had higher knowledge (P = 0.001) and practice (P = 0.001) than those who did not. CONCLUSION: The questionnaire developed in this study can be considered a comprehensive and executable scale with appropriate reliability and validity. There is a positive relationship between being exposed to information and the level of knowledge and practice of prosthodontists about OSA.