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

Acute otitis media (AOM) not only affects childhood quality of life (QoL), but can also affect parental QoL. We adapted a previously published questionnaire on the effect of childhood recurrent ear, nose and throat infections on parental QoL for use with AOM and used it in an observational, multicentre, prospective study of children with AOM.The AOM-specific parental QoL questionnaire grouped 15 items into emotional, daily disturbance, total and overall parental QoL impact scores. The questionnaire was assessed using item-convergent and item-discriminant validity criteria and internal consistency reliability; and then used with parents of children aged