Development of a parent questionnaire to assess treatment adherence for a child or adolescent with epilepsy

This study aimed to develop a questionnaire to assess parents' treatment adherence for their child or adolescent with epilepsy (PQ-TAE).

Seventy-one preliminary items were developed as a first draft and refined based on reviews from experts and cognitive interviews with parents. Then, an online survey was conducted from June 15 to July 15, 2020, to test the psychometric properties of the questionnaire and to modify it. Reliability and validity were additionally tested using exploratory factor analysis, internal consistency, and statistical relationships including parents' partnership with healthcare providers, educational attainment, and economic status.

The 4-factor model was adopted as the final factor structure of the PQ-TAE (CMIN/df = 2.15, RMSEA = 0.07, SRMR = 0.04, CFI = 0.93, TLI = 0.90). The reliability of the PQ-TAE was statistically acceptable (Cronbach's alpha = 0.93). The PQ-TAE score was statistically related to the partnership with healthcare providers (r = 0.58, p < 0.001), educational attainment (t = -2.12, p = 0.037), and economic status (t = -4.05, p < 0.001).

The PQ-TAE using a 5-point Likert scale consists of 25 items classified into four factors. The higher the score (Range 25-125), the better the treatment adherence of the parent of a child or adolescent with epilepsy.