Quantitative Data Collection Approaches in Subject-Reported Oral Health Research: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Abstract Background The era of modern information technology enables multiple methods and modes of collecting self-reported oral health information. The scope of the use of these various modalities has not been well classified or summarized, therefore it is necessary to study the degree to which various technologies were used to collect oral health outcomes and related data. This paper reports on a scoping review of the range of data collection methods in quantitative research to measure self-reported oral health status. All methods of data collection were assessed; papers whose methodologies employed newer technologies were identified. Method The review was guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) with the search on four online bibliographic databases. We analyzed peer-reviewed articles and reviews published between 2011 and September 2021 to determine data collection methods. Eligible publications were required to use quantitative methods that have a principal objective of measuring self-assessed oral health status, and/or oral health-related quality of life. Result We examined the past decade-long trends and found that there has been an increased interest in assessing self-reported oral health and oral health related quality of life data, a dominance of impact measures used, and the application of technologies to the methods. We found that 50 percent of all papers focused mainly on an impact measure. Technologies used included: computer-generated sample populations through polling techniques and crowd-sourcing software; together with tablets and computers to assist in data collection. Conclusion The study provides an overview of methods and modes to collect self-reported oral health data, especially with emerging technologies. Contemporary web-based approaches offer enhanced opportunities for survey research to boost recruitment, participation of study subjects with wide and diverse backgrounds from almost unlimited geographic areas, and efforts to improve quality by assuring increased response rates and reducing bias, especially in longitudinal studies. Several studies with strong standard methods of conducting oral health studies that have been successfully collecting these data for years were often not likely to adopt newer technologies because computer access is not available to their populations.