Development and initial validation of a new short and simple Health-Related Quality Of Life (HRQL) Questionnaire for Pediatric Rheumatic Diseases (PRD)

Objective

To develop a new short and simple measure for assessment of HRQL in PRD and provide preliminary evidence of its validity in JIA.

Methods

The Pediatric Rheumatology Quality of Life (PRQL) includes 10 questions, each scored from 0 (normal) to 3 (worst). Score range is 0–30. The PRQL contains two subscales, each composed of 5 questions (score range 0–15), that assess physical (PhH) and psychosocial (PsH) health. Validation of PRQL included evaluation of feasibility, face and content validity. Construct validity was assessed by calculating Spearman's correlation with JIA outcome measures in 723 visits (403 patients) made between 2007 and 2008. Construct validity of PRQL was compared with that of Child Health Questionnaire (CHQ) by assessing the same correlations of in a historical sample of 501 visits (448 patients) made between 2002 and 2006 who had CHQ completed.

Results

All completers reported that PRQL was easy to understand and fill. Completion time was < 5 minutes. Table 1 reports Spearman's correlations for PRQL and CHQ.

Table 1 Spearman's correlations for PRQL and CHQ

Conclusion

The PRQL proved feasible and showed good face and content validity. Construct validity was comparable to that of an established pediatric HRQL measure (the CHQ).