Assessing whether child and parent reports of the KINDL questionnaire measure the same constructs of quality of life in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder

Impact of a pediatric primary care health-coaching program on change in health-related quality of life in children with mental health problems: results of the PrimA-QuO cohort study

Mental health problems (MHP) have a considerable negative impact on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in children and their families. A low threshold Health Coaching (HC) program has been introduced to bring MH services to primary care and strengthen the role of pediatricians. It comprised training concepts as a hands-on approach for pediatricians, standardization of diagnosis and treatment, and extended consultations. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential effects of the HC on HRQoL in children with MHP and their parents.We used data from the PrimA-QuO cohort study conducted in Bavaria, Germany from November 2018 until November 2019, with two assessments one year apart. We included children aged 17 years or younger with developmental disorder of speech and language, non-organic enuresis, head and abdominal pain, and conduct disorder. All included children were already part of the Starke Kids (SK) program, a more general preventive care program, which includes additional developmental check-ups for children enrolled in the program. In addition,  treatment according to the HC guidelines can be offered to children and adolescents with mental health problems, who are already enrolled in the SK program. These children form the intervention group; while all others (members of BKK and SK but not HC) served as controls. HRQoL in children was assessed using the KINDL questionnaire. Parental HRQoL was measured by the visual analogue scale. To analyze the effects of the intervention on children´s HRQoL over the 1-year follow-up period, we used linear mixed effects models.We compared 342 children receiving HC with 767 control patients. We could not detect any effects of the HC on HRQoL in children and their parents. This may be attributed to the relatively high levels of children´s HRQoL at baseline, or because of highly motivated pediatricians for the controls because of the selection of only participant within the Starke Kids program. Generally, HRQoL was lower in older children (-0.42 points; 95% CI [-0.73; -0.11]) and in boys (-1.73 points; 95% CI [-3.11; -0.36]) when reported by proxy. Parental HRQoL improved significantly over time (2.59 points; 95% CI [1.29; 3.88]).Although this study was not able to quantitatively verify the positive impact of this HC that had been reported by a qualitative study with parents and other stakeholders, and a cost-effectiveness study, the approach of the HC may still be valid and improve health care of children with MHP and should be evaluated in a more general population.

A Machine Learning Approach to Assess Differential Item Functioning of the KINDL Quality of Life Questionnaire Across Children with and Without ADHD

This study aimed to investigate differential item functioning (DIF) of the child and parent reports of the KINDL measure across children with and without Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The sample included 122 children with ADHD and 1086 healthy peers, alongside 127 and 1061 of their parents, respectively. The generalized partial credit model with lasso penalization, as a machine learning method, was used to assess DIF of the KINDL across the two groups. The findings showed that three out of 24 items of the child reports and seven out of 24 items of the parent reports of the KINDL exhibited DIF between children with and without ADHD. Accordingly, Iranian children with and without ADHD along with their parents perceive almost all items in the KINDL similarly. Hence, the observed difference in quality of life scores between children with and without ADHD is a real difference and not a reflection of measurement bias.

The KIDSCREEN-27 Quality of Life Measure for Romanian Children Aged 6: Reliability and Validity of the Romanian Version

The KIDSCREEN-27 represents a standardized, worldwide instrument, employed to assess the health-related quality of life in children. The purpose of the present study is to validate the KIDSCREEN-27 questionnaire for 6-year-old preparatory school children and verify its reliability, as well as to perform a comparison regarding the quality of children’s lives living in two cities in Romania: Arad, a provincial city, versus the second most developed city in the country, Cluj-Napoca. A total of 256 children of 6 years of age, who come from families with both parents, with a medium to high socioeconomic status and a good health status, were included in the analysis, using the KIDSCREEN-27 questionnaire at three assessment time points with a re-test period of two weeks. Results indicated that the KIDSCREEN-27 turned out to be suitable for use in 6-year-old Romanian children. Analysis regarding the psychometric properties showed that the Cronbach’s alpha ranged from 0.554 to 0.661 at the end of the study. The Pearson correlation coefficients showed statistically significant differences between the items of each area investigated. In conclusion, there is a growing need to periodically monitor the health status of children to avoid possible problems which may occur.

Validation of the Chinese Version of KIDSCREEN-10 Quality of Life Questionnaire: A Rasch Model Estimation

The KIDSCREEN-10 was deemed as a cross-national instrument for measuring Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL). However, no empirical endeavor has explored its reliability and validity in the context of China. This study aims to translate and validate the Chinese version of the KIDSCREEN-10 questionnaire. The KIDSCREEN-10 was translated into Chinese (Mandarin) using a blindly bilingual forward–backward–forward technique. A cross-sectional survey, including 1,830 students aged from 8 to 18 years, was conducted in a county located in Gansu province, China. Psychometric properties were evaluated using the Rasch partial credit model, ANOVA, and the correlation analysis. Results indicated that the KIDSCREEN-10 performed good internal consistency, known-group validity, and concurrent validity, but there were still some deficiencies in psychometrics: first, disordered response categories were found between category 2 (seldom) and category 3 (sometimes); second, item 3 (“Have you felt sad?”), item 4 (“Have you felt lonely?”), and item 5 (“Have enough time for self?”) demonstrated misfit to the Rasch model; third, items 3 and 4 exhibited differential item functioning. After collapsing the disordered response categories and removing the three misfit items, the seven-item questionnaire performed good psychometric properties. However, the seven-item version does not cover the psychological well-being dimension of HRQoL, and that may lead to inappropriate measures of HRQoL. Therefore, this paper suggested to use classical test theory to investigate the psychological properties of the KIDSCREEN-10.

Psychological Status Associated With Low Quality of Life in School-Age Children With Neurodevelopmental Disorders During COVID-19 Stay-At-Home Period

Background: This study seeks to ascertain how the COVID-19 stay-at-home period has affected the quality of life (QOL) of children with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) who had experienced sleep schedules alteration and clarify what psychological status predicted low QOL in children with and without altered sleep patterns. Materials and Methods: Study participants were 86 children between 8 and 17 years of age (mean age, 11.7 years; 70 boys, 16 girls; mean intellectual quotient, 83.6). QOL was evaluated using the self-assessment KINDL^R. Participants answered questions regarding depression and anxiety on a visual analog scale (VAS) for temporary mood. Their parents answered questionnaires regarding their maladaptive behaviors and differences in sleep patterns before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The student's t-test was performed to examine the presence or absence of sleep changes in the children, which affected QOL, temporary mood, and maladaptive behaviors. Multiple or simple linear regression analyses were also performed to identify the psychogenic factors that significantly affected decreased QOL for each group with and without changes in sleep schedule. Results: During the COVID-19 stay-at-home period, 46.5% of participants experienced changes in sleep patterns. These changes were associated with decreased QOL as well as internalized symptoms. The decreased QOL of children with sleep patterns changed was predicted by a high level of depression. In addition, low QOL in children with unchanged sleep patterns was predicted by a high level of depression and low current mood status. Conclusions: Almost half of the participants experienced a poor sleep schedule during the stay-at-home period. These alterations in sleep patterns were associated with a low QOL. The QOL of children with a stable life schedule was affected not only by depressive tendencies but also temporary moods. Therefore, they need to live a fulfilling life to maintain their QOL. However, the QOL of children with poor sleep patterns was affected only by depressive tendencies. Hence, clinicians need to ensure that children with NDDs are well-diagnosed with depression and treated for sleep problems.