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Assessing health-related quality of life in chronically ill children with the German KINDL: first psychometric and content analytical results

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Abstract

Health-related quality of life is increasingly being considered as a relevant end-point and outcome criterion in evaluating the effects of medical treatment. While in adults quality of life instruments have been developed in terms of generic as well as disease-specific measures, quality of life assessment and children is a relatively new area. The current paper describes the application of a German generic quality of life instrument for children (the KINDL) in a group of 45 chronically ill children suffering from diabetes or asthma in comparison to 45 age- and gender-matched healthy children. The results of psychometric testing in these populations showed that the German KINDL is a reliable, valid and practical instrument to assess the health-related quality of life of children which should be supplemented by disease-specific modules and needs to be further tested in clinical populations.

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Ravens-Sieberer, U., Bullinger, M. Assessing health-related quality of life in chronically ill children with the German KINDL: first psychometric and content analytical results. Qual Life Res 7, 399–407 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008853819715

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008853819715

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