Abstract
PurposeThis study aimed to assess psychometric properties of the Japanese version of the EQ-5D-Y (3 levels) with a focus on feasibility, reliability, and construct validity.MethodsRespondents were recruited from the general populations of three cities in Japan. First, children and adolescents responded to the EQ-5D-Y and PedsQL by self-report. Parents were also asked to evaluate the health states of their children/adolescents using proxy versions of these questionnaires. Next, the EQ-5D-Y was mailed to their residence approximately 2 weeks later, and both children/adolescents and their parents responded to the questionnaire. Reliability was confirmed by self-report test–retest methods and a comparison of self-report responses with proxy responses. Spearman’s correlation coefficients were calculated between responses to the EQ-5D-Y and both responses to and scores of the PedsQL in order to assess construct validity.ResultsA total of 654 children/adolescents from aged 8 to 15 (median age: 11) responded to the questionnaires at both the first- and second-stage surveys. Test–retest agreement was sufficiently high and was influenced by age. Proxy test–retest results revealed that parents’ responses were more reliable compared to the self-report results. Some correlations (|r| > 0.3) between items of the EQ-5D-Y and PedsQL were found. Meanwhile, no correlations were found between proxy responses to the EQ-5D-Y and self-report responses to the PedsQL.ConclusionsThe EQ-5D-Y demonstrates reliability and validity among children/adolescents and their parents in Japan. Construct validity of the EQ-5D-Y by self-report was confirmed through comparisons with the PedsQL. Proxy responses to the EQ-5D-Y were more reliable compared to the self-report results, but construct validity was not confirmed in the proxy version.
Highlights
Measurement of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of children and adolescents is becoming increasingly important for the evaluation of healthcare technologies
The Japanese version of the EQ-5D-Y was prepared by a Japanese research group, which included the present authors, based on the first draft provided by the EuroQol group
If predetermined value sets that reflect societal preferences of the general population are available, responses can be converted to an EQ-5D-Y index value
Summary
Measurement of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of children and adolescents is becoming increasingly important for the evaluation of healthcare technologies. HRQOL measures for children/adolescents can be problematic if the intended meaning of the questions is difficult to understand such that a proper response is prevented. For this reason, HRQOL measures often limit their target population by age or recommend to use proxy-report. Other non-preference-based measures have been designed for children/adolescents, such as the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) [20], which is a self-report questionnaire targeting children aged 8–12, and an adolescent version of the PedsQL that targets children/adolescents aged 13–18. KIDSCREEN [21] was established in Europe and targets children/adolescents aged 8–18 Another measure, self-report version of the Child Health Questionnaire (CHQ), targets children/adolescents aged 5–18 [22]
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have