Social acceptability of treatments for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis

Aim. Verify the social acceptability of treatments for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AlS). Materials and Methods. A validated questionnaire (socio-demographic section and five specific questions) was used to elicit the evidence-based opinion of families with children 11 to 14 years old. 100 subjects (PG) were directly interviewed (response rate: 100%), while all the children (3,162) attending a convenience sample of 10 schools from 4 northern ltalian regions (SG) answered the questionnaire (response rate. 34%). Results. The answers supported the use of screening (94.8%) at school, immediate bracing (76.4%) for scoliosis with a 60% risk of progression, but also therapeutic exercises (86.9%)in cases with a 25% risk of progression. Answers obtained from SG and PG were in some cases statistically different, but patterns and sizes of the responses were similar. Conclusion. Even if the data were not statistically similar, they might be deemed socially (and clinically) relevant. Conservative options for AIS treatment may be more costly, more time-consuming, and create a greater psychological burden for families and their physicians than more aggressive approaches, but families nevertheless appear to have conservative attitudes. AIS treatments should be carefully considered in the light of their social acceptability. Relevancy. There is a growing tendency to consider not only the efficacy and efficiency of treatments, but also their acceptability. Acceptability could be important in areas (like AIS) in which definitive evidence is lacking and invasive approaches are proposed. This is the first study on the topic, and adds significant information to actual clinical approaches.