Ear-related quality of life : utility, validity and reliability of a Chinese version of the otitis media Questionnaire

Abstract

This study aimed to validate the Chinese Otitis Media Questionaire-14 (OMQ-14) for the paediatric population in mainland China. The OMQ-14 is a parent report questionnaire which measures children’s quality of life related to otitis media. A total of 158 children (97 males, 61 females), aged from three to nine years (M= 4.77, SD= 1.59), participated in the study. One parent/caregiver of the child completed the Chinese OMQ-14. The participants were recruited from (i) an ear, nose, and throat specialist outpatient clinic (n= 63), (ii) a speech therapy clinic (n= 45), and (iii) mainland social media accounts openly (n= 50). The OMQ-14 was translated into simplified Chinese by forward and back translations. Psychometric properties were evaluated. Results indicated that a modified version with 11 items, termed the OMQ-11, was applicable to the Chinese paediatric population. The OMQ-11 had acceptable to good convergent validity, discriminant validity, and internal consistency for the five factors included (global health, ear problems, reported hearing difficulties, behaviour, and speech and language). The concurrent validity was partially established. Limitations of the study were discussed. Further research is needed to evaluate test-retest reliability, concurrent validity, responsiveness, and measurement invariance of the Chinese OMQ-11. Given its brevity and high relevance to otitis media, when complementing established clinical procedures, the Chinese OMQ-11will be valuable in determining the severity of the impact of otitis media on children, informing treatment decision making, and assisting outcome evaluation in mainland China.