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The Parents' Perspective

Thomas P. Nikolopoulos, MD, PhD; Hazel Lloyd, BEd; Sue Archbold, MPhil; Gerard M. O'Donoghue, FRCS

Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2001;127:363-367.

Objective  To analyze parental views on cochlear implantation, before and in the years following implantation, to determine whether the results from the intervention met their expectations.

Design  Prospective longitudinal study to assess parental perspectives of an unselected group of children with cochlear implantation.

Setting  Tertiary referral pediatric cochlear implant center in the United Kingdom.

Subjects  Forty-three parents of children with cochlear implantation.

Intervention  A specifically designed questionnaire was administered to assess preimplant expectations and observed changes and concerns at 1, 2, and 3 years following implantation. Three key domains were evaluated: (1) communication with others, (2) listening to speech without lipreading, and (3) the development of speech and language.

Results  Preoperative expectations were met or surpassed at each of the follow-up intervals. In the area of communication, 35 (81%) parents expected a definite improvement preoperatively, and 3 years following implantation, 42 (98%) actually saw such an improvement. The respective numbers in the area of listening to speech were 15 (35%) and 38 (88%), and for speech development, 37 (86%) and 37 (86%). Speech development was the major area of concern at all intervals.

Conclusion  This study demonstrates the ability of cochlear implantation to meet or surpass parental expectations in 3 important outcome domains: communication, listening to speech, and the development of speech and language.

From the Department of Otolaryngology, University Hospital, Queen's Medical Center National Health System Trust, Nottingham, England.

Corresponding author: Sue Archbold, MPhil, Nottingham Pediatric Cochlear Implant Programme, 113 The Ropewalk, Nottingham NG1 6HA, England (e-mail: sue.archbold{at}mail.qmouh-tr.trent.nhs.uk).

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