Logo Logo
Help
Contact
Switch Language to German

Niemitz, Mandy; Schwerk, Nicolaus; Goldbeck, Lutz and Griese, Matthias (2018): Development and validation of a health-related quality of life questionnaire for pediatric patients with interstitial lung disease. In: Pediatric Pulmonology, Vol. 53, No. 7: pp. 954-963

Full text not available from 'Open Access LMU'.

Abstract

PurposeChildren's interstitial lung disease (chILD) is often associated with multiple burdens and chronic impairment of health-related quality of life. Patient reported outcomes describe the patients' perspective on medical conditions and their treatments. We aimed to develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of a chILD-specific PRO (chILD-QoL) as an instrument for monitoring the patients' health status. Methods: Items were generated through focus groups with parents, patients, and interviews with pediatric pulmonologists. After a pretest of the German pilot version, the questionnaire was refined and translated into four European languages. Psychometric properties of the questionnaire were analyzed within a multi-center collaborative throughout Europe involving 180 parents of children with an interstitial lung disease and 65 pediatric patients. Results: The final instrument is available in different developmentally adapted versions from infancy to adolescence, comprising between 5 and 11 items. The scales showed high internal consistency (Cronbachs' between 0.85 and 0.94). Convergent validity was indicated by moderate to high correlations (r=0.43-0.91) with the Pediatric Quality of Life Questionnaire (PedsQL 4.0 Core module). Lower scores were significantly associated with dyspnoea (t(proxy)=3.18, P=0.002), tachypnoea (t(proxy)=2.95, P=0.002), and with worse clinical course of lung disease (t(self)=3.96, P<0.05) as reported by the physicians. Conclusion: sThe results indicate the reliability and validity of the chILD-QoL for pediatric patients with interstitial lung diseases. It can be used for screening and monitoring subjective health status as perceived by the patients and/or their caregivers, as well as for evaluation of health-related quality of life in clinical trials and intervention research.

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item