Emollient satisfaction questionnaire: validation study in children with eczema

Georgia G. Rowley, Stephanie J MacNeill, Matthew J Ridd*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview article (Academic Journal)peer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)
93 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Background
Emollients are used as maintenance therapy for all severities of eczema but there is a lack of head-to-head comparisons of effectiveness and acceptability.

Aim
To determine the validity of a self-report questionnaire designed to assess user satisfaction with a given emollient and to report the findings.

Methods
Data were analysed from the Choice of Moisturiser for Eczema Treatment trial, which compared four emollient types (Aveeno® lotion, Diprobase® cream, Doublebase® gel and Hydromol® ointment) in children aged < 5 years with clinically diagnosed eczema. An emollient satisfaction questionnaire was completed after 12 weeks. Responses for individual items were scored from 0 to 4. Total scores ranged from 0 to 28 (low to high satisfaction). Completion rates and distributions of responses for individual items and total scores, categorized by emollient type, were assessed, and two hypotheses were tested to determine the questionnaire's construct validity.

Results
Data from 77.2% (152 of 197) of participants were analysed. One item was rejected because of a high rate (44.7%) of ‘don't know’ responses, leaving seven items with high completion rates (98.7%) and weak evidence of floor or ceiling effects. A positive association was observed between total score and overall emollient satisfaction (Spearman correlation 0.78; P < 0.001). Total scores were highest (mean ± SD 23.5 ± 3.9) in the lotion group and lowest (18.4 ± 4.6) in the ointment group.

Conclusion
The emollient satisfaction questionnaire appears to have good validity. Further work is required to validate the questionnaire in other settings and to assess its reliability.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1337-1345
Number of pages9
JournalClinical and Experimental Dermatology
Volume47
Issue number7
Early online date22 Mar 2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 29 Jun 2022

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Authors. Clinical and Experimental Dermatology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Association of Dermatologists.

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