Parental perspectives on the quality of life of children with cochlear implants in Armenia

Abstract

Abstract Objectives The aim of this project is to assess the quality of life (QOL) of children living with cochlear implants (CIs) in Armenia using the ‘Children with Cochlear Implants: Parental Perspectives’ (CCIPP) questionnaire. Design A group of children received CIs after an international medical mission trip. Parents of 39 children who received CIs (30 male and 9 female, age range between 1 and 7 years, mean 6.31 years post-implantation, and mean age at time of implantation 2.92 years old) completed the CCIPP questionnaire. The questionnaire had 107 items, which were scored using a 5-point Likert scale. Results General functioning, communication, and support of the child domains (mean 4.13, 4.01, and 4.00, respectively) achieved the highest ratings. Effects of implantation (mean 2.97) and education (mean 3.24) received less positive ratings. Communication, general functioning, social relationship, and well-being and happiness had the most positive correlations with other domains (P < 0.05). Significant but weak correlations were observed between communication and age of implantation (rs = −0.352, P < 0.05), general functioning and number of spoken languages (rs = 0.372, P < 0.05), and supporting the child and number of spoken languages (rs = 0.376, P < 0.05). Conclusion The parents positively rated most domains indicating that the QOL of the child at ≥3 years post-implantation is improved and that parents view the implant as having a positive impact on their child’s life. Future studies should investigate and implement solutions to enhance parents’ satisfaction with education and effects of implantation domains by improving resource allocation to schools and providing better preoperative counseling to parents, respectively. Importantly, this project demonstrates that an international medical aid trip model can be an effective means of providing cochlear implantation to resource-limited countries.