Quality Of Life In Children And Adolescents Can Now Be Measured Cross-Culturally: Results From The International Kidscreen Project

Main Category: Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 20 May 2008 - 5:00 PST

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Unlike many existing cross-cultural health instruments which are based on translations of existing measures, KIDSCREEN-52 is the first measure for children and adolescents developed simultaneously in different European countries using modern psychometric methods. The development process and rigorous cross-cultural testing means that the instrument is suitable for use in comparative studies of quality of life in different cultural settings.

KIDSCREEN-52 was used to self-assess Health-related Quality of Life in over 22.000 children and adolescents aged 8-18 in 13 European countries. Psychometric analyses showed satisfactory results in the precision of the scales (reliability) and in measuring the intended aspects of subjective well-being (validity). Results further showed that the items were well understood and answers were provided in a comparable manner. The project further provided European indicators for child well-being and reference data for each country.

Besides European countries, the KIDSCREEN-52 is being adapted and implemented in several Middle-Eastern, North and South American countries.

The article, "The KIDSCREEN-52 Quality of Life Measure for Children and Adolescents: Psychometric Results from a Cross-cultural Survey in 13 European Countries," appears in Value in Health, the official journal of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR).

According to the project coordinator, Prof. Dr. Ravens-Sieberer: "The international, collaborative nature of the KIDSCREEN project produced an instrument which is psychometrically, conceptually and linguistically appropriate for use in many different countries. By giving each country the opportunity to be involved as early on as the item construction phase, the perspective of children from many different backgrounds is included".

Value in Health (ISSN 1098-3015) publishes papers, concepts, and ideas that advance the field of pharmacoeconomics and outcomes research and help health care leaders to make decisions that are solidly evidence-based. The journal is published bi-monthly and has a regular readership of over 3,000 clinicians, decision-makers, and researchers worldwide.

ISPOR is a nonprofit, international organization that strives to translate pharmacoeconomics and outcomes research into practice to ensure that society allocates scarce health care resources wisely, fairly, and efficiently.

Value in Health Volume 11 Issue 4
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http://www.ispor.org