The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #60402

Patricia A. Wren, PhD, MPH¹, David C. Musch, PhD, MPH², Steven M. Archer, MD², Kenneth E. Guire, MS³, and Monte A. Del Monte, MD². (1) Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, 1420 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2029, 734-647-3194, pwren@umich.edu, (2) Departments of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, University of Michigan, 1000 Wall Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-0714, (3) Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, 1420 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor, MI 48109

Purpose: To determine the impact of strabismus surgery on various dimensions of children’s quality of life. Methods: Parents or guardians of children with strabismus who provided written informed consent completed a brief health-related quality of life assessment prior to and two-months after the child’s operation. Trained staff administered the interview protocol to parents or guardians in their homes by telephone from a centralized facility. The questionnaire, based on a RAND-developed instrument used in the Health Insurance Study, tapped multiple dimensions of quality of life including physical, mental, and social components. Strabismus-specific questions probed any social and emotional implications of the child’s eye alignment problem. Results: The 98 children who underwent surgery for strabismus were, on average, 4 years old. The measure and subscales demonstrated good internal consistency (Chronbach alphas > 0.7). At follow-up, adult respondents reported significant improvements in the children’s quality of life, primarily in the areas of functional limitations (p<0.001), social relations (p<0.008), general health perceptions (p<0.001), and developmental satisfaction (p<0.001). Conclusions: Adult assessments of young children’s health-related quality of life offer important insights into the effect of strabismus surgery on a child’s well-being. Substantial improvements from pre-surgery to two-months follow-up were noted in multiple dimensions of quality of life.

Learning Objectives:

2. Detail the procedure for collecting quality of life data on children from adult proxy respondents.
4. Describe the major dimensions of quality of life assessed in the study.
6. Discuss the implications of strabismus surgery for children's social and emotional well-being.

Keywords: Children's Health, Quality of Life

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.