Development and validation of a self-management ability questionnaire for patients with chronic periodontitis

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to develop and validate a self-management ability questionnaire for patients with chronic periodontitis. METHODS: A questionnaire was developed through theoretical research, literature review, semi-structured interview, and expert consultation. A total of 231 patients with chronic periodontitis from the Department of Periodontics in the Stomatological Hospital of Tianjin Medical University were recruited by convenient sampling. Validity and reliability were analyzed. RESULTS: The questionnaire consisted of 24 items. Exploratory factor analysis identified three principal factors, which explained 66.949% of the total variance. The item-level content validity was between 0.800 and 1.000, and the scale-level content validity was 0.969. The coefficient of correlation between the gold standard and the whole questionnaire was 0.869. Cronbach's α of the whole questionnaire was 0.931, and the test–retest reliability coefficient was 0.825. CONCLUSION: The questionnaire developed in this study satisfies the measurement standard and has good reliability and validity. It is useful for clinical work to measure self-management among patients with chronic periodontitis.