Qualitative Methods in the Development of a Bilingual and Bicultural Quality of Life Outcomes Measure for Pediatric Patients With Craniofacial Conditions

An international study to develop the EAR-Q patient-reported outcome measure for children and young adults with ear conditions

BACKGROUND

There is currently a lack of patient-reported outcome measures for ear reconstruction. We developed the EAR-Q to measure ear appearance and post-operative adverse effects from the patient perspective.

METHODS

Field-test data were collected from children and young adults in eight countries between 13 May 2016 and 12 December 2019. Rasch measurement theory (RMT) analysis was used to refine the scales and to examine their psychometric properties.

RESULTS

Participants had microtia (n = 607), prominent ears (n = 145) or another ear condition (n = 111), and provided 960 assessments for the Appearance scale (e.g., size, shape, photos), and 137 assessments for the Adverse Effects scale (e.g., itchy, painful, numb). RMT analysis led to the reduction of each scale to 10-items. Data fit the Rasch model for the Appearance (X2(80) = 90.9, p = 0.19) and Adverse Effects (X2(20) = 24.5, p = 0.22) scales. All items in each scale had ordered thresholds and good item fit. There was no evidence of differential item function for the Appearance scale by age, gender, language, or type of ear condition. Reliability was high for the Appearance scale, with person separation index (PSI) and Cronbach alpha values with and without extremes ≥0.92. Reliability for the Adverse Effects scale was adequate (i.e., PSI and Cronbach alpha values ≥0.71). Higher scores (liked appearance more) correlated with higher scores (better) on Psychological, Social and School scales.

INTERPRETATION

The EAR-Q can be used in those 8-29 years of age to understand the patient perspective in clinical practice and research, and in addition, can be used to benchmark outcomes for ear reconstruction internationally.

A Single Surgeon's Experience of Starting a New Ear Reconstruction Service in the UK

ABSTRACT

Autologous ear reconstruction is known as one of the most difficult types of reconstruction to perform in plastic surgery. Very rarely is a trainee exposed to the level of complexity and variety of cases they will treat as a sole care provider in a tertiary care setting. This is because the learning curve is steep and those few surgeons that already perform ear reconstruction are limited in what technical experience they can offer trainees due to the plethora of factors competing against the surgeon. These include patient expectations, level of experience, length of anesthetic and accountability for results and complications. For this reason, once a plastic surgeon is nominated to provide autologous ear reconstruction, they face the daunting prospect of not only performing what is a very complex surgery with a very steep learning curve but also the judgment of their patients and colleagues. This paper charts the endeavors of the senior author to provide a service over the last 5 years. It will hopefully provide insight and context on setting up a service, dealing with complications, patient and peer expectations, and finally acknowledgment from both alike as experience is gained and excellence is reached.

Engaging the Voices of Children: A Scoping Review of How Children and Adolescents Are Involved in the Development of Quality-of-Life-Related Measures

OBJECTIVES

Patient-reported outcomes are increasingly recommended to guide patient care, develop and evaluate interventions, and modify health systems. However, not enough is known about whether and how children and adolescents, as "experts" in their own health and quality of life (QoL), are being engaged in the development of instruments. Our goals in this review were (1) to identify all QoL-related instruments that have included children and/or adolescents in the development of questionnaire content, including identification of themes and items; and (2) to report how this was done; and (3) to highlight those that used qualitative methods.

METHODS

MEDLINE and Embase were searched for child- or adolescent-completed QoL-related instruments, supplemented by hand-searching of relevant reviews until 2020. Original development papers were identified and retrieved when possible, from which instrument characteristics and details of qualitative development methods were extracted.

RESULTS

We identified 445 instruments, of which 88 used qualitative methods for content development. Interviews and focus groups were the most common methods. A variety of play techniques were used to engage the child and adolescent participants. The specific criteria for the inclusion of children and adolescents (age, developmental stage, duration, and nonclinical location) varied considerably.

CONCLUSIONS

Researchers frequently involve children and adolescents in qualitative methods when developing QoL-related measures; however, there is little information about the methods used. Better reporting of methodology, improved dissemination of methods guidelines, and research into optimal ways of including children and adolescents in the process of instrument development would be useful.

Concepts Important to Patients With Facial Differences: A Qualitative Study Informing a New Module of the FACE-Q for Children and Young Adults

Objective:

The concepts important to children and young adults who undergo treatments for facial differences are not well-defined. Measurement of treatment outcomes from the patient’s perspective is necessary to ensure goals of treatment are met. We aimed to identify concepts important to children and young adults with facial differences through a qualitative study.

Design:

An interpretive description qualitative approach was followed. Semistructured interviews were conducted, transcribed verbatim, and coded using a line-by-line approach. Qualitative analysis led to the development of a conceptual framework of outcomes important to patients.

Setting:

Interviews were conducted in Canada and the United Kingdom at home, by telephone, or in the hospital.

Participants:

Participants (N = 72) were recruited between May and June 2014 from craniofacial clinics at the Hospital for Sick Children (Toronto) and Great Ormond Street Hospital (London). Participants included anyone with a visible and/or functional facial difference aged 8 to 29 years and fluent in English, excluding patients with a cleft. The sample included 38 females and 34 males, with a mean age of 13.9 years, and included 28 facial conditions (11 facial paralysis, 18 ear anomalies, 26 skeletal conditions, and 17 soft tissue conditions).

Results:

Analysis led to identification of important concepts within 4 overarching domains: facial appearance, facial function, adverse effects of treatment, and health-related quality of life (psychological, social, and school function).

Conclusions:

Our study provides an understanding of concepts important to children and young adults with facial differences.

Health-Related Quality of Life in Craniofacial Conditions: Concordance Between Child and Parent Reports

INTRODUCTION

Craniofacial conditions (CFCs) profoundly influence health-related quality of life (HRQoL). In children with CFCs, patient-reported outcome measures have become an integral adjunct to more objective surgical outcome measures. Patient-reported outcome measures are designed to assess HRQoL domains. Few studies have evaluated parent and child agreement about HRQoL in the context of CFCs. The aims of this study were to explore the impact of CFCs on HRQoL domains in children and their parents and to determine whether patient and parent perspectives converge.

METHODS

The Craniofacial Conditions Quality of Life Scale (CFC-QoL) is a newly developed 5-domain survey available in child self-report and parent report and in English- and Spanish-language versions. The 5 domains are the following: social impact, psychological function, physical function, family impact, and appearance impact. Children with CFCs (ages 7-21 years) and parents of children with CFCs were recruited via the craniofacial care team clinic at a major metropolitan children's hospital. All children and parents completed the CFC-QoL Scale in their preferred language of English or Spanish. Scale internal consistencies were calculated for child patients and parents, for English and Spanish versions. Scores on the 5 domains were compared for children and parents across English versus Spanish versions.

RESULTS

For children with CFCs (N = 75), the sex was distributed almost equally. Patients were mostly Hispanic (69.3%), and their ages ranged from 7 to 21 years old (M = 13.2, SD = 3.62). The mean values for patient and parent scores were low, suggesting good HRQoL across all 5 domains. Pearson correlation coefficients were computed to explore the interrelationships between patient and parent report for each of the 5 CFC-QoL subscales. For the total sample, patient and parent scores were significantly and moderately positively correlated for all subscales. When analyzed separately based on sex, ethnicity, and diagnostic group, the correlation patterns were not identical to those found for the total sample. When analyzed separately for diagnostic group, there was less consistency in patterns, with patient-parent dyads showing different levels of agreement based on child's diagnostic grouping.

CONCLUSIONS

Although there is substantial agreement between parents and patients when considered on a group level, there is moderate agreement between patients and parents when considered at the dyadic level, underscoring the importance of measuring and considering both perspectives.

Recommendations for the Development and Reform of Microtia and Atresia Services

BACKGROUND

The initial step in setting up standardized microtia-atresia service is investigating the current status of the service and comparing this to internationally recognized guidelines or care standards. In many countries, documented information about microtia care is lacking. This study is an initiative to guide reform efforts of national microtia service in any country. The UK care standards for microtia-atresia can be a useful model to help set up a comprehensive microtia-atresia service.

METHODS

The authors conducted a survey to investigate different aspects of microtia service in Egypt. The major plastic surgery centers (n = 22) were surveyed by a structured questionnaire. The results were compared with the UK care standards for microtia-atresia to identify the aspects that need improvement. Thorough analysis of the main problems in microtia-atresia service is presented.

RESULTS

The authors found that microtia service is fragmented between the surveyed centers with 65% of the centers treating less than 10 microtia cases annually. Multiple surgeons are responsible for ear reconstruction in 90% of centers and only 25% of them practise a multidisciplinary team approach. None of the centers uses validated tools of aesthetic or psychological patient-reported outcome measures.

RECOMMENDATIONS

These 5 recommendations are the keys to reforming microtia service in any country:(1) Establishing nationally designated centers to concentrate the required expertise.(2) Assigning fewer high-volume surgeons to optimize the surgical outcomes.(3) Providing treatment by experienced multidisciplinary teams.(4) Using validated tools of patient-reported outcome measures.(5) Collecting and keeping standardized records for regular audit and intercenter studies.

Development of a New Patient-reported Outcome Measure for Ear Conditions: The EAR-Q

Background:

Patient-reported outcome measures are widely used to improve health services and patient outcomes. The aim of our study was to describe the development of 2 ear-specific scales designed to measure outcomes important to children and young adults with ear conditions, such as microtia and prominent ears.

Methods:

We used an interpretive description qualitative approach. Semi-structured qualitative and cognitive interviews were performed with participants with any type of ear condition recruited from plastic surgery clinics in Canada, Australia, United States, and United Kingdom. Participants were interviewed to elicit new concepts. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and coded using the constant comparison approach. Experts in ear reconstruction were invited to provide input via an online Research Electronic Data Capture survey.

Results:

Participants included 25 patients aged 8–21 years with prominent ears (n = 9), microtia (n = 14), or another condition that affected ear appearance (n = 2). Analysis of participant qualitative data, followed by cognitive interviews and expert input, led to the development and refinement of an 18-item ear appearance scale (eg, size, shape, look up close, look in photographs) and a 12-item adverse effects scale (eg, itchy, painful, numb).

Conclusions:

The EAR-Q in currently being field-tested internationally. Once finalized, we anticipate the EAR-Q will be used in clinical practice and research to understand the patient’s perspective of outcomes following ear surgery.