Browsing by Author "Ilić, Irena (57210823522)"

Background and Objectives: Studies on the effects of studying on a medical student’s quality of life are sparse. The World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire is a widely used scale that enables the assessment and international comparisons of the quality of life. The aim of this study was to evaluate psychometric properties of the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire among Serbian medical students. Material and Methods: We conducted a crosssectional study that involved 760 medical students at a state medical faculty at the University of Kragujevac, Serbia. The reliability of the WHOQOL-BREF was evaluated using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient and test–retest analysis, and the validity was examined using principal component analysis, with Promax rotation method. Results: Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the whole WHOQOL-BREF scale was 0.896. Internal reliability for all domains was above 0.70, except for the domain “Social Relationships” (0.533). The test–retest reliability for all domains was significant at p < 0.01 level, showing good stability of the scale. Principal component analysis with Promax rotation method indicated four main components that explained 49.5% of variance. Conclusion: The Serbian version of the WHOQOL-BREF scale showed satisfactory psychometric properties that facilitate estimation of the quality of life of medical students. © 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Background/Aim. The assessment of the impact of oral health on the quality of life presents the increasing need in testing oral health of an individual and of the entire population. The aim of the study was to translate the index of “Oral Health Questionnaire for Adults” of the World Health Organization into the Serbian language and to check its reliability in the Serbian Armed Forces professional staff. Methods. This study was designed as an observational, epidemiological study. The “Oral Health Questionnaire for Adults” was translated into the Serbian language. The classical test theory was used in the data analysis. The assessed characteristics included internal consistency and construct validity. Results. A total of 1,741 participants were included in this analysis. The mean age of the study group was 32.4 ± 9.7 years. In the last 12 months, problems which occurred frequently or very often regarding teeth and mouth were as follows: difficult biting of food (6.2%), difficult chewing (5.1%), difficult speech or difficult pronunciation of certain words (1.9%), dryness of the mouth (2.9%), the feeling of discomfort due to the esthetic appearance of teeth (6.8%). The reliability of the “Oral Health Questionnaire for Adults” (items considering Oral Health Self-Assessment) had high internal consistency (the Cronbach’s coefficient was 0.879). The Principal component analysis and Promax rotation revealed 1 factor with Eigenvalue exceeding 1, accounting for 54.3% of the total variance. Conclusion. The Serbian version of the „Oral Health Questionnaire for Adults” provides very useful and reliable information on the condition of oral health of the Serbian Armed Forces professional members. © 2021 Inst. Sci. inf., Univ. Defence in Belgrade. All rights reserved.