Objective: The primary aim of this study was to investigate whether there was any difference in scores of the Cleft Hearing, Appearance and Speech Questionnaire (CHASQ) between patients with cleft lip and/or cleft palate (CL/P) and a control population. The second aim was to compare CL/P and control population scores in this study with a British norm CL/P population.
Design: Single-site, cross-sectional study with an age-matched control population.
Setting: Participants were recruited from a hospital, a school, and a sports club. They answered the CHASQ in the hospital or at home.
Participants: Sixty-four participants with CL/P (7-19 years of age) and a control population of 56 participants without CL/P (9-20 years of age).
Main outcome measure: CHASQ.
Results: There was no statistically significant difference in satisfaction with cleft-related features between the CL/P and the control population. Participants with CL/P were significantly more satisfied with non-cleft-related features than the control population. Cleft Hearing, Appearance and Speech Questionnaire scores were also similar to earlier established British normative data of a CL/P population.
Conclusion: The results indicated that children and young people with CL/P were as satisfied with their appearance, hearing, and speech as children and young people without CL/P. Swedish CHASQ scores were also similar to British scores.
Keywords: appearance satisfaction; cleft lip and/or cleft palate; control population; patient-reported outcomes; speech satisfaction.