An observational study to develop ICF oral health core sets (England)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Use of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) to describe oral health, and the influence of a medical condition or disability and of the environment on the oral health of adults: An observational international study.
IRAS ID
194910
Contact name
Blanaid Daly
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Kings College London
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 10 months, 30 days
Research summary
Poor dental health may result in pain, infection, restrictions in chewing, swallowing and speech, change in facial appearance, social stigma, altered body image, and reduced capacity to participate in social events. Existing measures of dental health have the limitation that while they measure dental disease, they fail to capture the impact of loss of function or the impact of the social environment on the individual. The limitations of dental measures are pronounced in the context of disability. Currently, no universal holistic tools exist to describe oral health, the functional impact of poor oral health or the factors influencing oral health. In order to address this gap, we propose in this study to use the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) framework to develop such a tool (The ICF oral Health core set). The methodology for developing this tool has been used in many different medical and rehabilitation disciplines previously. The study will involve collecting data using an ICF questionnaire from a population of 60 adults referred for special care dental services at the Dental Hospital (KCHFT). Participants will be interviewed based on the ICF checklist and interview data will be combined with observations of the patient, and relevant medical and dental data abstracted from the dental patient record. Anonymised data from these 60 individuals will be pooled with data from 4 other international sites, and an adult oral health core set derived from the N=300 final sample. The development of this adult ICF oral health core set tool will address an important gap in measuring oral health
REC name
London - Harrow Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/LO/0038
Date of REC Opinion
11 Mar 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion