THE EAR INFECTION SURVEY: IS IT RESPONSIVE TO CHANGE IN HEALTH OVER TIME? K Gupta, L Asmussen, L Olson, R Siegel, J Bien. Department of Practice and Research, Center for Child Health Research, American Academy of Pediatrics, Elk Grove Village, IL; Cincinnati Pediatric Research Group, Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH. Presented as a poster at the 2000 Pediatric Academic Societies? Annual Meeting.

BACKGROUND: OM is a common pediatric health problem and one that negatively affects children and families. However, little is understood about quality of life related to OM. The EIS, a newly validated condition-specific health status measure, may be used to understand OM's effects on the health status and well-being of young children and their families.

OBJECTIVE: To report responsiveness of the EIS, a parent-completed health status measure for families of children 0-3 years with otitis media (OM).

DESIGN/METHODS: In this longitudinal study, 267 primary caregivers with a child 0-3 years with persistent ear infections and/or effusion completed the EIS at a baseline office visit and again at follow-up 2-8 weeks later. Physicians rated each child's OM condition as clinically and functionally mild, moderate or severe. Survey respondents were primarily mothers (92%). The majority of children were Caucasian (85%); 52% of children were male. Fifty percent of families had annual incomes <$30,000. At baseline, nearly half of study children were rated with clinically moderate or severe OM; 40% were rated with functionally moderate or severe OM. Three scales (Physical Health, Child/Family Activity and Child/Family Emotional Health) were computed from the EIS with scores ranging from 0-100. Higher scores indicate more favorable outcomes. Responsiveness was assessed using paired t-tests.

RESULTS: At baseline, mean scale scores on the EIS ranged from 54.1 to 67.0. The EIS's reliability (Cronbach's alpha ranging from .69-.89) and validity (significantly lower mean scale scores for children with more severe cases of OM) have be previously reported. In tests of responsiveness, mean scale scores were significantly higher at follow-up for children whose OM condition improved from clinically or functionally moderate/severe at baseline to clinically or functionally mild at follow-up.

CONCLUSION: Although OM is not typically a serious medical condition, it imposes a heavy burden on children and families. New tests suggest the EIS is reliable, valid, and sensitive to improvement in a child's OM over time. The EIS provides valuable information surrounding quality of life issues for young children with OM and their families.