Christina Petersson

Comparing children's self-report instruments for health-related quality of life using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health for Children and Youth (ICF-CY).

Children with chronic conditions often experience a long treatment which can be complex and negatively impacts the childs well-being. In planning treatment and interventions for children with chronic conditions, it is important to measure health-related quality of life (HrQoL). HrQoL instruments are considered to be a patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) and should be used in routine practice. Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare the content dimensions of HrQoL instruments for childrens self-reports using the framework of ICF-CY. Method: The sample consist of six instruments for health-related quality of life for children 5 to 18 years of age, which was used in the Swedish national quality registries for children and adolescents with chronic conditions. The following instruments were included: CHQ-CF, DCGM-37, EQ-5D-Y, KIDSCREEN-52, Kid-KINDL and PedsQL 4.0. The framework of the ICF-CY was used as the basis for the comparison. Results: There were 290 meaningful concepts identified and linked to 88 categories in the classification ICF-CY with 29 categories of the component body functions, 48 categories of the component activities and participation and 11 categories of the component environmental factors. No concept were linked to the component body structures. The comparison revealed that the items in the HrQoL instruments corresponded primarily with the domains of activities and less with environmental factors. Conclusions: In conclusion, the results confirm that ICF-CY provide a good framework for content comparisons that evaluate similarities and differences to ICF-CY categories. The results of this study revealed the need for greater consensus of content across different HrQoL instruments. To obtain a detailed description of childrens HrQoL, DCGM-37 and KIDSCREEN-52 may be appropriate instruments to use that can increase the understanding of young patients’ needs.

Children's experiences about a structured assessment of health‐related quality of life during a patient encounter

BACKGROUND It has been stated that care for children with chronic health conditions tends to focus on condition-specific issues rather than how these children experience their health and everyday life functioning. AIM The aim of this study was to explore childrens experiences about a structured assessment of health-related quality of life applied during a patient encounter. METHODS Prior to the start of the study, a clinical intervention based on the questionnaire DISABKIDS Chronic Generic Measure (DCGM-37) was performed. A qualitative explorative design was chosen, and 25 children between 10-17 years of age were interviewed after the consultation at four different paediatric outpatient clinics. Data were analysed according to qualitative content analysis. RESULTS The results were twofold: children experienced that the assessment was providing them with insights about their health, which motivated them to make lifestyle changes. When outcomes were discussed and requested, the children felt encouraged. CONCLUSIONS The use of an assessment of health-related quality of life may promote insights about health and encourage children with chronic health conditions to discuss their outcomes with healthcare professionals.

Use of the national quality registry to monitor health-related quality of life of children with type 1 diabetes: A pilot study

The management of diabetes is complicated, as treatment affects the everyday life of both children and their families. To enable optimal care for children with type 1 diabetes, it is important to highlight health-related quality of life (HrQoL) as well as medical outcomes to detect psychological problems that otherwise could be missed. The aim was to study HrQoL in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes dependent on gender, age and co-morbidity and to study the consistency between children’s self-reporting and parents’ proxy reporting. The cross-sectional data were collected using the questionnaire DISABKIDS Chronic Generic Measure and the DISABKIDS diabetes module. Parents in the proxy report perceived their children’s HrQoL to be lower than children themselves. Boys reported their HrQoL to be better than girls. Results show that living with an additional disease has an impact on the HrQoL, which is an important factor to consider in the quality registry. Assessing HrQoL on a routine basis may facilitate detection and discussion of HrQoL-related questions in the national quality registry.

The Burn Model Systems outcome measures : a content analysis using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health

Abstract Background: The National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) Burn Injury Model Systems (BMS) is a nationwide database that uses patient-reported outcome measures to collect data. Though the outcome measures demonstrate good psychometric properties, the question remains whether or not these measures collect data that encompass the entire experience of burn patients over time. Methods: Each meaningful concept included in the BMS assessments was linked to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) in order to classify and describe the content of each measure. The linking was completed by two experienced coders. The perspective of each assessment was also determined. Results: The body function component was most frequently addressed overall followed by the activities and participation component. The component body structures and environmental factors are not extensively covered in the BMS assessments. ICF chapter and category distribution varied greatly between assessments. The assessments were of the health status perspective. Conclusion: This study suggests a need to revisit the item composition of the BMS assessments to more evenly distribute ICF topics and subtopics that are pertinent to burn injury which will ensure a broader but more precise understanding of burn injury recovery. Implications for Rehabilitation A better understanding of the data collected through the Burn Model Systems (BMS) project may contribute to improve data collection tools and ultimately lead to clinical practice innovations and improvements. Clinicians interested in using BMS data for research purposes can better understand what topics are included and excluded in the collection and what perspectives are addressed. This study highlights the need for burn clinicians around the world to lend their expertise to the WHO for the development of a much needed burn injury International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health Core Set.

Impact of Type 1 Diabetes on Health-Related Quality of Life Among 8–18-Year-Old Children

ABSTRACT Measuring the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is one way to understand an individual’s perspective on health, and, more specifically, how type 1 diabetes (T1D) affects a child’s everyday life. Early detection of poor HRQOL is considered a crucial factor for identifying children who are at risk of psychosocial problems. The aim of this study was to describe the differences in the HRQOL of children with T1D according to age, gender, and metabolic control (HbA1c). Cross-sectional data were collected from children with T1D using the DISABKIDS Chronic Generic Measure-37 (DCGM-37) and the diabetes specific module (DM-10). Non-parametric tests were used to investigate differences. There were differences between girls and boys, and girls reported lower HRQOL than boys (HRQOL total score: mean 74 and 67 respectively; p = .005). Adolescents described more worries and fears about the future compared with younger children. Children with poor metabolic control reported a lower HRQOL than those with better metabolic control (HRQOL total score:mean 68 and 76 respectively; p = .006), but the social dimensions were not affected. The findings of the present study elucidate the importance for paediatric nurses to explore potential problems in children with T1D and use this knowledge in clinical practice. Assessment of the HRQOL can provide the patient’s perspective on the quality of diabetes care. The HRQOL is correlated with HbA1c, gender, and age, and the HRQOL as well as HbA1c levels should be regularly assessed to establish a comprehensive care for children with T1D.

Discovering aspects of health-experiences of a web-based health diary among adults with primary immunodeficiency.

Advances in technology generate new opportunities to develop e‐health tools to help individuals in self‐management by assessing symptoms of illness and its relation to treatments. Self‐management is central when living with primary immunodeficiency diseases. The aim was to explore the experiences of people living with primary immunodeficiency, who used a pilot version of the web‐based health diary.

The multicenter benchmarking study of burn injury: A content analysis of the outcome measures using the international classification of functioning, disability and health

OBJECTIVE To link, classify and describe the content of the Multicenter Benchmarking Study Burn Outcomes Questionnaires (BOQ) using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) to determine if the information garnered provides researchers with the data necessary to develop a comprehensive understanding of life after burns. METHODS Two ICF linking experts used a standardized linking technique endorsed by the World Health Organization to link all BOQ concepts to the ICF. Linking results were analyzed to determine the comprehensiveness of each of the five measures. RESULTS The activities and participation component was most frequently addressed followed by the body functions component. Environmental factors are not extensively covered and body structures are not addressed. ICF chapter and category distribution were skewed and varied between assessments. The majority of BOQ items are of the health status perspective. CONCLUSION BOQ item composition could be improved with a more even distribution of pertinent ICF topics. Assessment authors may consider addressing the impact of environmental factors on participation. Including body structure concepts would allow investigators to track structural deformation and/or developmental delay. Generally speaking, this data should not be used to examine quality of life outcomes.