The Spanish version of the health-related quality of life questionnaire for children and adolescents with heart disease (PedsQL(TM))

Abstract

Introduction and objectives: To adapt the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL(TM)) (General Module and Cardiac Module, 3.0 version) into Spanish.

Methods: Forward and back translation methodology. Cognitive interviewing was used to check the pre-test version. Psychometric properties were computed for the PedsQL(TM) Cardiac Module Scales. Cross-informant variance between children and parents was assessed.

Results: The Spanish version has some format changes to make it easier to read and to clarify response choices (version for 5-7 years age group). Some semantically complex terms were replaced with synonyms and others illustrated with examples. Some "out of context" problems were identified with respect to some items (version for children 2-4 and 5-7 years). The percentage of missing item responses ranged from 0% to 5.9%. A high ceiling effect was found, especially in the Cardiac Module, which ranged from 19% to 48.6%. Internal consistency was higher than 0.7, except for Physical Appearance Scale and School Functioning in children. Agreement between information given by children and parents was generally very high. A decreasing trend in scores on all scales was observed in relation to the severity of heart disease, but the differences were only statistically significant in some dimensions.

Conclusions: The Spanish version of the PedsQL(TM) differs somewhat from the original version, particularly on the School Functioning and Physical Appearance Scales, as observed in cognitive interviews. Predictive validity was not demonstrated.