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Validation of a Parent Proxy Quality‐of‐Life Measure for Young Children With Hearing Loss
Author(s) -
Yu Cathy Y.,
Jeffe Donna B.,
Kenna Margaret A.,
Germiller John A.,
Lieu Judith E.C.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
the laryngoscope
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.181
H-Index - 148
eISSN - 1531-4995
pISSN - 0023-852X
DOI - 10.1002/lary.28891
Subject(s) - cronbach's alpha , exploratory factor analysis , psychology , quality of life (healthcare) , construct validity , proxy (statistics) , hearing loss , reliability (semiconductor) , test (biology) , developmental psychology , clinical psychology , audiology , psychometrics , medicine , computer science , paleontology , power (physics) , physics , quantum mechanics , machine learning , psychotherapist , biology
Objectives No hearing‐related quality of life (QL) questionnaire currently exists for children < 7 years. This study aimed to develop and evaluate the construct validity and reliability of a new parent‐proxy Preschool Hearing Environments and Reflection on Quality of Life (HEAR‐QL) questionnaire. Methods Parents of children 2 to 6 years old with any hearing loss (HL) were recruited from multiple sites. To evaluate the new measure's construct validity, participants completed a 70‐item preschool HEAR‐QL and validated questionnaires measuring hearing and communication functioning (Parents' Evaluation of Aural/Oral Performance of Children), generic pediatric QL (Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory Parent Report, PedsQL), family functioning (PedsQL Family Impact Module), and parent well‐being (Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Adult Global Report). Participants completed the preschool HEAR‐QL 2 weeks later to measure test–retest reliability. Exploratory principal components analysis was used to reduce the number of items and determine the underlying HEAR‐QL factor structure. Analysis of variance examined HEAR‐QL differences by HL. Results Among 205 parents, 144 had children with bilateral HL, 50 had children with unilateral HL, 10 had children with normal hearing (NH), and one child's hearing status was unspecified. The 70‐item questionnaire was reduced to 23 items with five underlying factors: Behavior and Attention, Hearing Environments, New Social Situations, Social Interactions, and Communication. Cronbach's alpha for each factor ranged from 0.80 to 0.91. Test–retest reliability was 0.93. Moderate‐to‐strong correlations (r > .300) were observed between each Preschool HEAR‐QL factor and previously validated measures. Hearing Environments scores differed significantly between children with NH and any HL. Conclusion Preschool HEAR‐QL correlations with other measures supported its construct validity. Discriminant validity testing requires a larger sample of children with NH. Level of Evidence NA Laryngoscope , 131:663–670, 2021