Parent cough-specific quality of life: Development and validation of a short form - 30/03/13
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Abstract |
Background |
Cough is a distressing symptom and has a significant effect on many children and their families. Quality-of-life (QOL) measures provide important outcome indicators for clinicians and aid in evaluating the efficacy of interventions.
Objective |
The aim of this study was to develop and validate a short cough-specific QOL questionnaire for pediatric use.
Method |
Two sources provided data to establish a shortened version of the Parent Cough-specific Quality of Life (PC-QOL) questionnaire. The first (n = 240, 137 boys; median age, 29 months [interquartile range, 14-64 months]) was used for development and cross-validation. Stepwise regression was used to select the reduced set of items, and analyses of reliability, validity, and minimally important differences determined psychometric strength and sensitivity to change. The second independent dataset (n = 320, 190 boys; median age, 39.5 months [interquartile range, 16-77 months]) was used as a confirmatory sample.
Results |
Forward-step regression identified 8 items that accounted for 95% of the variance in the full-scale PC-QOL questionnaire. This shortened version (PC-QOL-8) was internally consistent (Cronbach ⍺ = 0.84), had good test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.66), and demonstrated strong validity (significant correlations with a cough verbal category descriptor score, cough visual analog scale, and subscales of the Short Form-12 General Health scale, the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory, and the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale). The reduced scale was responsive to change, and a minimally important difference of 0.9 was suggested. These findings were confirmed with the second dataset.
Conclusion |
The PC-QOL-8 questionnaire is a short, reliable, and valid instrument for assessing the effect of a child’s chronic cough. It demonstrated sensitivity to change, and its length and psychometric properties should enhance its potential uptake and routine use in clinical practice and research.
Le texte complet de cet article est disponible en PDF.Key words : Quality of life, pediatric cough, psychometrics, minimally important difference
Abbreviations used : DASS, ICC, MID, PC-QOL, PedsQL, QOL, SF-12, VAS, VCD
Plan
Research was conducted at the Royal Children’s Hospital, Brisbane, Australia. |
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This work for the MSCAPE database was supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC, grant ID 490321). Salary support for A.B.C. to conduct this work was provided by the NHMRC (grant ID 545216). The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not reflect the views of the NHMRC. The work for the PCS database was supported by the Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation and the Queensland Children’s Medical Research Institute (grant no. 50004). |
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Disclosure of potential conflict of interest: The authors declare that they have no relevant conflicts of interest. |
Vol 131 - N° 4
P. 1069-1074 - avril 2013 Retour au numéroBienvenue sur EM-consulte, la référence des professionnels de santé.
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