Reliability and validity study of Persian modified version of MUSIC (musculoskeletal intervention center) – Norrtalje questionnaire

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are a major health problem in the world. Self-reported questionnaires are a known method for estimating the prevalence of MSDs among the population. One of the studies concerning MSDs and their relation to work-related physical and psychosocial factors, as well as non-work-related factors, is the MUSIC-Norrtalje study in Sweden. In this study, the research group developed a questionnaire, which has been validated during its development process and is now considered a well-known instrument. The aim of this study is to validate the Persian version of this questionnaire.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The first step was to establish two expert panel groups in Iran and Sweden. The Focus Group Discussion (FGD) method was used to detect questionnaire face and content validity. To detect questionnaire reliability, we used the test-retest method.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Except for two items, all other questions that respondents had problems with in the focus group (20 of 297), had unclear translations; the ambiguity was related to the stem of the questions and the predicted answers were clear for the participants. The concepts of 'household/spare time' and 'physical activity in the workplace' were not understood by the participants of FGD; this has been solved by adding further descriptions to these phrases in the translation. In the test-retest study, the reliability coefficient was relatively high in most items (only 5 items out of 297 had an ICC or kappa below 0.7).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The findings from the present study provide evidence that the Persian version of the MUSIC questionnaire is a reliable and valid instrument.</p

Water fluoridation as a marker for sociodental inequalities

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between the Human Development Index at city level (HDI-M) in the state of Parana, Brazil, and the length of time of population exposure to water fluoridation (time span) with the respective mean decayed, missing and filled teeth (DMF-T) of schoolchildren in the state, looking at possible inequalities in these associations. Methods: The HDI-M of 323 cities in the state of Parana, Brazil, was correlated to the duration of exposure to water fluoridation, calculated in number of days. Correlation between the HDI-M and the DMF-T indexes for 12-year-old children was also performed. Results: Correlations were statistically significant, showing that in the cities with a better HDI-M, water fluoridation had been implemented earlier (squared coefficient correlation of 22%). The fluoridation time span accounted for around 11% of the variance in the DMF-T indexes of the cities. The correlation indicated that locations with a better HDI-M had a better DMF-T, owing to the probable mediating effect of receiving fluoridation earlier. Furthermore, the cost of water fluoridation to benefit the population that has access to this public health measure has been estimated at USD 0.15 per capita/year. Conclusions: It is possible to conclude that this low-cost measure is able to improve oral health status in general. Nevertheless, in the Brazilian areas studied, fluoridation seems to reflect existing social development inequalities, as it was first made available in more socially developed areas, thus bearing an influence on their higher DMF-T performance to date.36210310