Objective:

To assess the psychometric properties of a specifically designed questionnaire to determine the degree of oral health knowledge of caregivers of children with Cerebral Palsy.

Material and methods:

One hundred caregivers of children with cerebral palsy participated, users of the “Pedro Aguirre Cerda” National Rehabilitation Institute, Santiago. To evaluate the instrument, the principal component analysis was performed, Pearson’s correlation coefficients were calculated to investigate the existing association patterns between its components, reliability was analysed (Cronbach’s alpha) and, considering the percentile values of the average of the responses, the cut-off scores were determined to establish the levels of knowledge reported by the participants.

Results:

The analysis indicated the existence of a latent factor on the only construct defined in its design - the degree of knowledge about oral health of caregivers of children with cerebral palsy. A Cronbach’s alpha of 0,91 was obtained. All the correlations were positive and of a non-negligible magnitude. Four levels of knowledge were established: “well below expectations”, “below expectations”, “above expectations” and “very above expectations”.

Conclusion:

The reliability of the instrument´s psychometric properties makes it suitable for its use in clinical practice or research projects.

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