Abstract
BACKGROUND: Emollients are used as maintenance therapy for all severities of eczema but there is a lack of head-to-head comparisons of effectiveness and acceptability. AIM: To determine the validity of a self-report questionnaire designed to assess user satisfaction with a given emollient and to report the findings. METHODS: Data were analysed from the Choice of Moisturiser for Eczema Treatment trial, which compared four emollient types (Aveeno(®) lotion, Diprobase(®) cream, Doublebase(®) gel and Hydromol(®) ointment) in children aged < 5 years with clinically diagnosed eczema. An emollient satisfaction questionnaire was completed after 12 weeks. Responses for individual items were scored from 0 to 4. Total scores ranged from 0 to 28 (low to high satisfaction). Completion rates and distributions of responses for individual items and total scores, categorized by emollient type, were assessed, and two hypotheses were tested to determine the questionnaire's construct validity. RESULTS: Data from 77.2% (152 of 197) of participants were analysed. One item was rejected because of a high rate (44.7%) of 'don't know' responses, leaving seven items with high completion rates (98.7%) and weak evidence of floor or ceiling effects. A positive association was observed between total score and overall emollient satisfaction (Spearman correlation 0.78; P < 0.001). Total scores were highest (mean ± SD 23.5 ± 3.9) in the lotion group and lowest (18.4 ± 4.6) in the ointment group. CONCLUSION: The emollient satisfaction questionnaire appears to have good validity. Further work is required to validate the questionnaire in other settings and to assess its reliability.