Validation of a disease-specific questionnaire for measuring parent-reported health-related
quality of life in children with allergies
Sammanfattning
Purpose: To evaluate the properties and suitability of a disease-specific questionnaire to assess parent-reported health-related quality of life (HRQL) of children and parents of children suffering from food hypersensitivity (FHS) or allergy to furred pets (AFP).
Methods: The parents of 202 children with FHS and of 131 children with AFP filled in questionnaires comprising the CHQ-PF28 and the Food-Pet-Allergy in Children (FPAC) Questionnaire. Psychometric properties of the FPAC questionnaire were evaluated separately for FHS and AFP.
Results: Analyses resulted in five proposed scales: Limitations of Family/Child Activities (I), Parents’ Distress (II), Child’s Emotions (III), Child in School (IV) and Family Conflicts (V). Convergent/discriminant validity for scales I, II and III of both questionnaires was high; for scale IV it was moderate. All five FHS and four AFP scales were able to distinguish significantly between children with and without clinical allergy symptoms (known-group validity). Internal consistency reliability was good for scales I, II and III, but poor for scale IV.
Conclusion: Three valid scales were determined for both FHS and AFP (Limitations of Family/Child Activities, Parents’ Distress and Child’s Emotions) and can be used in clinical research. Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons.