title: The Amblyopia Treatment Index.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To develop a questionnaire to assess the acceptability of amblyopia treatment and its effect on the child and family.
  
  
  METHODS
  A 20-item parental survey was developed and pilot tested on 64 subjects, aged 3 to 6 years, participating in the Amblyopia Treatment Study, a randomized trial comparing patching and atropine as treatments for moderate amblyopia. The survey was administered after 4 weeks of treatment. A descriptive item analysis and an internal consistency reliability analysis were performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Nineteen of the 20 items demonstrated adequate variability as evidenced by the frequency distributions for item responses. Only 4 (<1%) of 1280 possible item responses were missing, one each by 4 different respondents. Factor analysis identified 3 treatment-related factors--"adverse effects," "compliance," and "social stigma"--among 11 of the 20 items. The internal-consistency reliability alpha for the 5-item adverse effects subscale was 0.82, the 4-item compliance subscale alpha was 0.81, and the 2-item social stigma subscale alpha was 0.84.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The Amblyopia Treatment Index appears to be a useful instrument for assessing the impact of amblyopia treatment in 3- to 6-year-old children.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: S R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Cole
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Beck
authors.forename: P S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Moke
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Celano
authors.forename: C D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Drews
authors.forename: M X
authors.initials: MX
authors.lastname: Repka
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Holmes
authors.forename: E E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Birch
authors.forename: R T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Kraker
authors.forename: K E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Kip
mesh_terms: D000550:Amblyopia / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D001285:Atropine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009184:Mydriatics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010349:Patient Compliance; D010865:Pilot Projects; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012683:Sensory Deprivation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D009184:Mydriatics; D001285:Atropine