Method: The study used a mixed methods design, combining quantitative and qualitative approaches using a concurrent triangulation strategy. Eighty parents with children aged 2-5 years old (either with ECC or caries-free) were recruited from hospital-based and community-based dental clinics. They were invited to complete the short-form Family Impact Scale (FIS-8) questionnaire and then underwent a 30 minute in-depth interview. The samples were grouped as (a) hospital-based with ECC, (b) community-based with ECC and (c) community-based caries-free. Quantitative data were analysed using SPSS version 21 . Qualitative analysis was carried-out using the deductive content-analysis method, assisted by NVivo.
Result: The respective mean FIS-8 scores before and after treatment were: 16.1 and 3.4 for the hospital-based with ECC group (p<0.001); 14.3 and 4.1 for the community-based with ECC group (p=0.001) and 4.2 and 2.8 for the community-based with caries-free group (p=0.002). The latter group showed a “small” effect size (0.4) while the other two groups showed “large” effect sizes (1.8 and 1.3 respectively). The most severely affected subdomain at baseline was parental functions and activities.
Conclusion:
ECC has a pervasive impact on affected children’s families, especially the parents. Treating ECC improves OHRQoL for the affected family. The FIS-8 scale is valid, reliable and responsive in assessing the impacts of ECC on affected children’s families in Malaysia.