Quality of life of children and their caregivers during an AOM episode: development and use of a telephone questionnaire

Abstract

BackgroundThe negative consequences of acute otitis media (AOM) on the quality of life (QOL) of children and their families need to be measured to assess benefits of preventive interventions.MethodsA new questionnaire was specifically designed for use in telephone surveys. A random sample of Canadian families was selected using random-digit dialling. Caregivers of children 6-59 months of age who experienced at least one AOM episode during the last 12 months were interviewed. Multidimensional severity and global QOL scores were measured both for affected children and their caregivers. Internal consistency of scores was assessed using standard tests.ResultsOf the 502 eligible caregivers who completed the survey, 161 (32%) reported at least one AOM episode during the last 12 months and these cases were included in the analysis. Average severity was 2.6 for children and 2.4 for caregivers on a 1 to 4 scale (maximum severity). Cronbach alpha values were 0.78 and 0.81 for the severity score of children and caregivers respectively. Average QOL was 3.4 for children and 3.5 for caregivers on a 1 to 5 scale (best QOL). There was moderate to high correlation between severity and QOL scores, and between these scores and duration of AOM episodes.ConclusionsThe questionnaire was easy to use during telephone interviews and results suggest good reliability and validity of the different scores to measure AOM severity and QOL of children and their caregivers during an AOM episode.

Impact of children's influenza‐like illnesses on parental quality of life: A qualitative study

“…Our results also corroborate the themes identified in two studies in children with ear-nose-throat infections and acute otitis media, 36,37 which are about changes in sleeping patterns, daily activities and cancellation of family activities. [36][37][38] These common findings demonstrate that different acute respiratory illnesses have similar impacts on care givers. The impacts may not be long lasting in many cases, yet parental QoL decreases drastically and abruptly.…”

The Impact of Childhood Acute Otitis Media on Parental Quality of Life in a Prospective Observational Cohort Study

“…Most otitis media QoL studies have examined the effect of otitis media predominantly on the child’s QoL [ 5 , 7 – 10 , 12 , 17 , 22 , 23 ], the effect of tympanostomy tube insertion mainly on the child’s QoL [ 24 – 29 ] or the effects of chronic otitis media and/or surgery on the QoL of adults with otitis media [ 30 – 34 ]. Although various otitis media-specific questionnaires have been used to assess the effect of childhood AOM on parental QoL, these have contained a maximum of nine parental questions [ 4 , 6 , 8 , 13 – 15 , 35 ]. In comparison, our questionnaire contained 15 questions on parental QoL, potentially allowing a somewhat more detailed assessment of parental QoL affected by childhood AOM.…”

“…Measuring the effect of diseases on QoL can be difficult, as it is a subjective matter. However, it is an important outcome, and questionnaires to measure QoL in outcomes studies, clinical trials and routine clinical care [ 5 ] can be used to assess the benefits of preventive measures such as immunisation [ 6 ]. While most questionnaires focus on the QoL of the patient, childhood diseases can also impact on the QoL of their caregivers, leading to parental anxiety, sleep deprivation and lost work time to look after their child and/or take them to a healthcare professional.…”

“…Caregiver QoL has been studied using the otitis media-specific Family Functioning Questionnaire [ 11 , 12 ] and the Caregiver Impact Questionnaire [ 4 , 13 , 14 ], which also cover the effect of otitis media on other family members. The OM-6 and the Family Functioning Questionnaire have also been combined to form a telephone questionnaire to assess child and caregiver QoL during an AOM episode [ 6 ]. Recently, an AOM-specific online interview has been used to assess the burden of AOM on caregivers [ 15 ], as has the generic PedsQL Family Impact survey [ 16 ].…”

The impact of influenza-like illness in young children on their parents: a quality of life survey

“…While there are numerous QoL studies of caregivers of chronically ill children, such as those suffering from dermatitis [30], cancer [31], or asthma [32], few QoL studies related to acute infectious diseases have been conducted (the studies we identified related to acute otitis media [33], ENT infections and rhinopharyngitis [26,34], and community-acquired pneumonia [29]). We know of no published studies on the QoL of caregivers of children with ILI or influenza.…”