Development and Administration of Chronic Suppurative Otitis Media Questionnaire-12 (COMQ-12) and Chronic Otitis Media Outcome Test-15 (COMOT-15) in Kannada

Abstract

IntroductionIt is essential to determine the quality of life among individuals withchronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM). However, there is limited literature on health-related quality of life measurements in Kannada-speaking individuals with CSOM.ObjectivesThe present study attempted to translate and validate Chronic Suppura-tive Otitis Media Questionnaire-12 (COMQ-12) and Chronic Otitis Media Outcome Test-15 (COMOT-15) in Kannada.MethodThe English questionnaires were translated and back-translated, and theywere later verified for content validity. The developed questionnaires were thenadministered to 100 individuals with CSOM for further validation.ResultsThe results of the study showed that the translated questionnaires have goodinternal consistency for measuring quality of life among individuals with CSOM. Thestudy also showed that Kannada-speaking individuals with CSOM show significantimpairment in their health-related quality of life measures.ConclusionsThe impairments were more related to ear symptoms and psychologicalissues. However, test-retest reliability of the developed questionnaire and its furthervalidation are essential. Thus, these questionnaires attempt to understand theproblems of the individuals with CSOM from the patients’perspective and helpclinicians provide the appropriate management.