title: Quality of life evaluation in children with cochlear implants.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the quality of life of children with cochlear implants from the perspective of their parents.
  
  
  METHODS
  A clinical and cross-sectional study was conducted with 15 parents of children using cochlear implants of both genders aged between 2 and 12 years old. Parents of these children answered the questionnaire "Children with Cochlear Implants: Parental Perspective" (CCIPP). Data related to auditory category and time of cochlear implants use were collected from medical records of the children. The percentages of responses on the CCIPP domains were tabulated and descriptively and inferentially analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The cochlear implants had a positive effect on the quality of life of children in the self-reliance (58.9%) and social relationships (56.7%) domains. No correlation was observed between the time of cochlear implants activation (months) and any of the CCIPP domains. However, children with 24 months or less of cochlear implant use presented higher percentages on the communication domain than those with more than 24 months of cochlear implants use. A negative correlation was observed between the auditory category and the effects of the implant domain.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  From the perspective of parents, the use of cochlear implants improves the quality of life of their children; the shorter the time of cochlear implants use, the higher the improvement in quality of life; and the more developed the auditory skills, the lower the percentage of quality of life improvement with the cochlear implants.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, Speech Language Pathology and Audiology, and Occupational Therapy, Medical School, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Renata Paula de
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Almeida
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, Speech Language Pathology and Audiology, and Occupational Therapy, Medical School, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Carla Gentile
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Matas
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, Speech Language Pathology and Audiology, and Occupational Therapy, Medical School, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Maria Inês Vieira
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Couto
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, Speech Language Pathology and Audiology, and Occupational Therapy, Medical School, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ana Claudia Martinho de
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Carvalho
mesh_terms: D001938:Brazil; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003054:Cochlear Implants / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003638:Deafness / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires