Parents' Satisfaction with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis Care: Findings from a Cohort of Italian Children Using the...

Area of Science:

• Pediatrics
• Rheumatology
• Health Outcomes Research

Background:

• Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) significantly impacts children's quality of life despite treatment advances.
• Limited data exists on parental satisfaction with JIA disease management.
• Understanding parental perspectives is crucial for optimizing pediatric rheumatologic care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate factors affecting parental satisfaction with JIA care.
• To utilize the juvenile arthritis parent acceptable symptom state (JA-PASS) for assessing satisfaction.
• To identify key clinical determinants of parental satisfaction in JIA management.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study involving parents of 63 children diagnosed with JIA.
• Utilized the Juvenile Arthritis Multidimensional Assessment Report (JAMAR) for data collection.
• Analyzed demographic data, disease characteristics, medication use, and JA-PASS scores.

Main Results:

• Over half (55.6%) of parents reported satisfaction with their child's JIA condition.
• Medication side effects, current disease activity, and psychosocial well-being significantly impacted parental satisfaction (JA-PASS).
• Multiple regression analysis identified these factors as key predictors of satisfaction.

Conclusions:

• The JA-PASS tool provides critical insights into parental perceptions of JIA.
• Integrating JA-PASS into assessment protocols can enhance understanding of disease progression and treatment efficacy.
• Findings highlight the importance of addressing medication side effects and psychosocial factors in JIA care.