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Survey reliably assesses parents' knowledge of pediatric sleep disorder, adenotonsillectomy
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A questionnaire on adenotonsillectomy produced reliable assessments and differences in parental and clinician knowledge and decision-making regarding childhood obstructive sleep-disordered breathing, according to study results.
“[Obstructive sleep-disordered breathing (oSDB)] occurs in 6% to 12% of children and may have significant physical, behavioral and neurocognitive sequelae,” Emily F. Boss, MD, MPH, from the department of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and colleagues wrote. “The most common treatment for pediatric oSDB is [adenotonsillectomy (AT)] surgery.
“Although it is often effective for improving the quality of life and sleep habits, AT may also be equivalent to watchful waiting with supportive care in reducing symptoms for patients with mild to moderate oSDB.”
Boss and colleagues enrolled 32 participants, including otolaryngologists and pediatricians (n = 19), parents of children who snore (n = 8) or do not snore (n = 2), and other adults (n = 3), to measure consensus/approval and psychometric integrity outcomes regarding oSDB. The researchers administered an 85-item prototype measure and a 39-item modified measure web survey to garner data.
Twenty-seven respondents reported that the measure was a good evaluator of knowledge, 30 said the questions were clear, and 31 acknowledged it was concise. Clinicians scored higher on the AT Knowledge Scale for Parents and the oSDB measure than parents and other adults collectively and within the five themes (oSDB symptoms, treatment options, AT risks, anesthesia and AT benefits; overall scores: 17 [94%] vs. 12 [67%]; Cohen d = 1.96; 95% CI, 1.05-2.86).
In addition to strong consensus and approval ratings, the prototype and measure yielded high reliability in psychometry (Cronbach alpha = 0.94).
“Components will further support the development and implementation of a decision aid that might assist parents in decision making for AT,” the researchers wrote. “To our knowledge, this scale represents the first validated measure to test the users’ knowledge of oSDB and AT for these purposes.” – by Kate Sherrer
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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