Linguistic Validation and Adaptation of a Malay Language Questionnaire to Measure Knowledge, Attitude and Behaviour Regarding Toothpaste Use and Toothbrushing for 12-Year-Old Children

Knowledge, attitude and behaviour towards toothpaste use and toothbrushing are contributing factors for maintaining good oral health. This study was conducted to translate and adapt a questionnaire on the knowledge, attitude and behaviour of toothpaste use and toothbrushing for 12-year-old Malaysian children. The original questionnaire in English that assesses knowledge, attitude and behaviour on toothpaste use and toothbrushing was used in this study. The questionnaire translation process involves forward translation, backward translation and consolidation to establish the pre-final Malay version questionnaire. A pre-test using the pre-final Malay version questionnaire was conducted among 10 participants of 12-year-old children in Tawau, Sabah. The expert committee discussed and reviewed the pre-test results to produce the final Malay version questionnaire. A pilot test for the test-retest reliability using the final Malay version questionnaire was then conducted among 30 respondents of 12-year-old children in Tawau. The test-retest reliability was analysed based on the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) score. The Malay version questionnaire consisted of knowledge domain (3 items), attitude domain (5 items) and behaviour domain (16 items). The Malay version questionnaire semantic, experiential and conceptual aspects achieved the same equivalence as in the original questionnaire. The linguistic and face validity issues were successfully resolved. The test-retest reliability results of the knowledge domain (0.836), attitude domain (0.826) and behaviour domain (0.864) achieved an excellent ICC score. The Malay version of the questionnaire has been translated and adapted for local use to assess knowledge, attitude and behaviour of toothpaste use and toothbrushing.