The Amblyopia Treatment Index.
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.
Cole
S R
SR
Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Beck
R W
RW
Moke
P S
PS
Celano
M P
MP
Drews
C D
CD
Repka
M X
MX
Holmes
J M
JM
Birch
E E
EE
Kraker
R T
RT
Kip
K E
KE
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
D009184:Mydriatics; D001285:Atropine