Validity and Reliability of “Parental Attitudes of Various Aspects of Cochlear Implantation” Questionnaire

INTRODUCTION: Parents are such important members of the cochlear-implant team that analysis of their views is essential in order to improve services and outcomes. The authors developed a tool to assess parental attitudes towards various aspects of cochlear implantation in children who had passed aural rehabilitation sessions. The authors then went on to determine the validity and reliability of this questionnaire. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A questionnaire entitled, “Parental attitudes towards various aspects of cochlear implantation”, was prepared and assessed for content validity by experts in the field. The questionnaire comprised six subgroups, each scored using a five-point Likert scale. Parents of children with severe-to-profound congenital hearing loss who had undergone an aural rehabilitation program between 2007 and 2012 were eligible to take part in the questionnaire validation study (n=92, mean age of cochlear implantation 3.97 years). Test-retest reliability was subsequently assessed in 17 patients within 1 month. RESULTS: The content validity index of the questionnaire was 98.68%.The external and internal reliability of the questionnaire was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha (0.844 and 0.892, respectively). Mean scores of the six subgroups of the questionnaire, including communication skills, academic skills, social skills, cochlear-implant center services, costs of surgery and rehabilitation programs and decision-making process and total were 84.6%, 75.0%, 84.0%, 78.8%, 83.4%, 67.0% and 79.2%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Overall, the results supported the validity, reliability and sensitivity of the questionnaire for use both in centers for cochlear implantation or aural rehabilitation clinics. The questionnaire would provide a valuable means of assessing the impact of cochlear implantation on children’s lives.