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Quality-of-life instruments need adaption for young children

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — A five-point scale on a quality-of-life instrument may not be appropriate for 4- to 7-year-olds, according to study results presented here at the 2013 American Academy of Dermatology meeting.

Study researchers administered the PedsItchyQoL survey to 10 children (mean age, 5.8 years) to address pruritus-specific issues in children. The survey included 16 items ranked 1 to 5 by its frequency in the past week (5=all the time).

Researchers found that participants did not understand the five-point scale. Also, 20.7% of questions were rated a 2 or 4 by participants aged 4 to 7 years vs. 30.1% by those aged 8 to 17 years.

Many questions about functional impairment were posed as negative, and researchers found participants had difficulty understanding the double negative of answering “never” on these types of questions.

Researchers said a two-step strategy may be better for administering the survey to younger children, in addition to explaining the importance of providing honest answers.

“Items will be posed ‘yes or no’ and if ‘yes,’ options will be limited to ‘a little,’ ‘some’ or ‘a lot,’” researchers said.

For more information:

Gulati P. #P6588. Presented at: AAD 2013; March 1-5, 2013; Miami Beach, Fla.

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.