Development of a questionnaire to measure the knowledge, expectations, and challenges of parents of children with cochlear implants

Abstract

Objectives: When children are diagnosed with loss of hearing, different aspects will influence the parents’ decision-making process of cochlear implantation. Little information is available for coping experience and challenges associated with parenting cochlear implanted children. The objective of this work was to study parental knowledge of parental expectations versus experiences about CI children and to explore the challenges they might face. Material and methods: Participants were parents of 50 Egyptian children with CI (28 males and 22 females). The children’s ages ranged from 5 to 8 years with a mean age of 6.55 years. An Arabic questionnaire was designed to evaluate parental perspectives and challenges during the CI procedure. Results: Most of the parents were satisfied with the amount of knowledge they received before implantation. Nearly half of parents (48%) received their knowledge about CI from the experience of others. Parents who d a sufficient awareness of the prerequisites of the protocol of CI in the general national health insurance were (48%). Most of the parents had challenges with a length of the CI procedure, expensive spare parts, and the cost of language therapy. Parents showed high expectations regarding academic achievements. Parental expectations regarding communication ability and social skills were met. Parents were most satisfied with the improved wellbeing and future life skills of their children. Conclusions: This study declares that the parental questionnaire is an important instrument that gives insight into the knowledge, expectations, and challenges of parents of children with cochlear implants in order to achieve a successful consequence following implantation.