Psychometric evaluation of the OM8-30 questionnaire in Dutch children with otitis media

The Dutch translation of the OM8-30 questionnaire, originally developed in the UK on a large clinical sample, has been applied for validation in an ENT sample, with the aim of assessing otitis media impact and identifying treatment needs in children suffering from chronic otitis media (OM) and/or upper respiratory tract infections (URTI). Caregivers of 246 children completed the OM8-30 and also the generic Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), prior to otolaryngologist consultation. Factor analysis confirmed the hypothesized six-factor structure, accounting for 55.5% of the variance. The internal consistency was satisfactory to good for all of the physical and developmental facets (α-values ≥ 0.68). The correlation matrix with the SDQ scales and total difficulties score showed significant relationships for almost all of the OM8-30 developmental facets and sub-aggregate (Ps < 0.01), supporting the concurrent validity of the OM8-30 as a measure of impact in otitis media. This first examination of the Dutch OM8-30 shows that the psychometric characteristics are sufficiently good for the assessment of disease impact, and that this can be subdivided into impact on physical health and on developmental aspects. Recommendations for further research include the study of confounders such as hearing, age and previous operations so that these can be adjusted out, and the determination of which subgroup of children may benefit from tympanostomy tubes.