3 Development of School-Aged Life Impact Burn Recovery Evaluation (SA-LIBRE 5–12) Profile: Item Pool

Abstract

Abstract Introduction The transition from early childhood to teen years (5–12) is a critical time of development, which can be made particularly challenging by a burn injury. Currently, few validated standardized measures exist for this age group. This study aimed to generate item pools to create a computer adaptive test (CAT) assessing post-burn recovery in school-aged children. Methods Item pool development was based on the School-Aged Life Impact Burn Recovery Evaluation (SA-LIBRE5-12) Conceptual Model and the World Health Organization’s International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health for Children and Youth. Additional elements included a literature review, expert consensus meetings, and parent cognitive interviews. Candidate items assessing health outcomes were extracted from existing legacy measures during the literature review. Details of expert consensus meetings and parent cognitive interviews are in Table 1. Results Items assessing health outcomes (n=3,732) were extracted during the literature review. Experts binned items across three domains: 1) Physical Functioning (55 items), 2) Psychological Functioning (80 items), and 3) Family and Social Functioning (57 items). Six cognitive interviews were conducted. Qualitative data resulted in further review of 86 items. The results of the cognitive interviews indicated that item stems and response choices were interpretable by respondents. Conclusions This study developed an item pool (n=192) to assess post-burn recovery of school-aged children. The next step in the SA-LIBRE5-12 CAT Profile development will be field-testing for the calibration and item response theory-based validation of the assessment.