Method: An established Autonomy Preferences Index (API) medical care survey was adapted for dentistry (dAPI), including a measure of general issues in dental decision making (GDM), decision making relative to scenarios of increasing dental severity (SDM), and information seeking (IS). The instrument was administrated to 91 active-adult patients at the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry. The REALD-30 was administered to assess dental literacy.
Result: A basic psychometric evaluation showed all scales met the fundamental criterion of internal consistency (GDM alpha .70, SDM alpha .91 and (IS) alpha .85). In addition, a factor analysis was conducted to evaluate the dimensionality in the GMD and IS scales; each was composed of two dimensions. In the GDM, one dimension was composed of items clearly related to the individual’s autonomy in decision making and the other related to either shared decision making or treatment decisions under different scenarios. For the IS scale, the items split into a group that was either clearly associated with information and treatment or associated with information around tests and problems.
Conclusion: None of the scales significantly correlated with the REAL-D 30, which is not surprising given the high REAL-D 30 scores (Mean 26, SD 3.6). When the dynamics between the scales were evaluated, the three scales clearly demonstrated the ability to differentiate individual differences relative to information seeking and decision-making. The correlation between the IS scale and the GDM was insignificant (Pearson .05, ns) and slightly higher for the SDM (Pearson 0.17, ns). Alternatively, the two decision making scales demonstrate a strong correlation (Pearson 0.54, .01) yet clearly demonstrate that the GDM and SDM do not directly overlap and are measuring distinct aspects of decision making.