Emollient satisfaction questionnaire: validation study in children with eczema

Area of Science:

• Dermatology
• Clinical Trials
• Patient-Reported Outcomes

Background:

• Emollients are standard eczema maintenance therapy, yet direct comparisons of their effectiveness and acceptability are scarce.
• Assessing patient satisfaction is crucial for adherence and treatment success in managing eczema.

Purpose of the Study:

• To validate a self-report questionnaire designed to measure user satisfaction with different emollient products for eczema.
• To analyze the findings from the Choice of Moisturiser for Eczema Treatment trial using this questionnaire.

Main Methods:

• The study analyzed data from 152 children under 5 with eczema from the Choice of Moisturiser for Eczema Treatment trial.
• A 12-week emollient satisfaction questionnaire was administered, with responses scored from 0-28.
• Construct validity was tested by assessing completion rates, response distributions, and correlations with overall satisfaction.

Main Results:

• The final questionnaire included seven items with high completion rates (98.7%) after one item was removed.
• A strong positive correlation (0.78) was found between total scores and overall emollient satisfaction (P < 0.001).
• Lotion emollients received the highest mean satisfaction scores (23.5 ± 3.9), while ointments received the lowest (18.4 ± 4.6).

Conclusions:

• The developed emollient satisfaction questionnaire demonstrates good validity for assessing user satisfaction in children with eczema.
• Further research is recommended to confirm the questionnaire's reliability and validate it across diverse populations and settings.