Background: Quality of life (QoL) of family members of patients with chronic skin diseases is often impaired. Disease-specific family QoL instruments for most of the skin conditions are not available. Family Dermatology Life Quality Index (FDLQI) is a dermatology-specific family QoL instrument that has been used in few studies to assess the impact of skin diseases on family members of mixed adult and children patient population. However, its use in families of exclusively paediatric patients with skin conditions needs further investigation.
Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare the results of two family QoL instruments; the disease-specific Dermatitis Family Impact (DFI) questionnaire and the dermatology-specific FDLQI.
Method: The original UK English version of the FDLQI was translated into Ukrainian using the standard translation guidelines. Parents of 30 children with AD were asked to complete the Ukrainian versions of the FDLQI and the DFI questionnaires. Disease severity was estimated using the Scoring Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD).
Results: Mean FDLQI score was 11.8 (±5.8; range = 0-30) and the mean DFI score was 10.7 (±5.6; range = 0-30). Mean SCORAD was 40.6 (±11.3; range = 0-103). Both questionnaires showed good internal consistency with a Cronbach's alpha value of 0.83 for both. The FDLQI showed high correlation with the DFI (r = 0.68, P < 0.0001). Items of each questionnaire having similar themes also demonstrated high correlation.
Conclusion: Family Dermatology Life Quality Index may be effectively used by parents of children as it can be used by family members of adult dermatology patients. Although, in some clinical and research situations, disease-specific measures could be replaced by the dermatology-specific measures, in most situations combining the disease-specific and dermatology-specific measures would be the most suitable approach to gain comprehensive insight into the impact of a dermatological condition on family members.
© 2014 European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology.