TYMPANOSTOMIES WITH TUBES - THE PARENT PERSPECTIVE

Successful physician-patient encounters satisfy patient and family mem ber needs beyond the effect on the disease process itself. To evaluate that aspect of care in children with chronic and recurrent acute otit is media with effusion, surveys regarding perceptions of health, socio economic issues, and other aspects of postoperative status were sent t o the parents of 637 children who underwent tympanostomies with tubes in 1994. Three hundred one (47.3%) were returned. Responses included p erceptions of improved health (87%), improvement in socioeconomic fact ors (75%), overall satisfaction with the results of the operation (93% ), and willingness to consent to the operation given similar problems in another child (87%). There were no significant differences in respo nses with regard to patient gender, length of follow-up, or multiple o perations, These results suggest that patient and family needs are sat isfied by tympanostomies with tubes.