Parental self-efficacy and the management of childhood atopic eczema: development and testing of a new clinical outcome measure

Summary Background Effective parental management of childhood eczema requires education and support to reduce disease severity and improve the child's quality of life. Self‐efficacy is a key factor influencing effective chronic disease management, yet there are no published scales to measure parental self‐efficacy in managing childhood eczema. The Parental Self‐Efficacy with Eczema Care Index (PASECI) was designed to measure parental self‐efficacy in managing childhood eczema as a pre‐ and postintervention tool in the evaluation of a structured Eczema Education Programme (EEP). Objectives To develop and test the validity, reliability and sensitivity of a new outcome measure (PASECI) designed to assess parental self‐efficacy in managing their child's eczema to determine pre‐ vs. postintervention changes in educational intervention evaluation studies. Methods PASECI was developed from the literature, expert consultation and piloting of a 40‐item prototype. The final 29‐item scale is arranged in four subscales. Parents of children with eczema aged 0–16 years (n = 242) attending the EEP were assessed at 1 week pre‐EEP and 4 weeks postintervention. Cronbach's α and factor analyses were undertaken. Results PASECI has face, content and construct validity. It is reliable, with high item internal consistency (α > 0·87 in all domains). Factor analysis revealed four viable domains. It was sensitive to change for postintervention measures using sign tests (P < 0·001). Conclusions PASECI is a useful, valid, reliable and sensitive evaluative outcome measure of self‐efficacy in parents managing childhood eczema. What's already known about this topic? Effective child eczema management requires systematic parental education. Parental self‐efficacy in eczema care is a factor influencing the effectiveness of parental eczema care, yet there are no measures of it. What does this study add? The Parental Self‐Efficacy with Eczema Care Index (PASECI) is a valid, reliable and sensitive measure. PASECI is a useful scale to evaluate the effectiveness of eczema education interventions. Plain language summary available online