Child–parent agreement on health-related quality of life in children with newly diagnosed chronic health conditions: a longitudinal study

Validating the Ontario Child Health Study Emotional Behavioural Scales-Brief Version (OCHS-EBS-B) in children with chronic physical illness

BACKGROUND

A substantial proportion of children have a physical illness; these children commonly experience physical-mental comorbidity. To assess child mental health, brief scales that can be used in clinical and research settings are needed. This study assessed the validity and reliability of parent-reported Ontario Child Health Study Emotional Behavioural Scale-Brief Version (OCHS-EBS-B) scores.

METHODS

Data come from a longitudinal study of children aged 2-16 years with a physical illness recruited from outpatient clinics at a pediatric hospital. Confirmatory factor analysis and McDonald's coefficient assessed the factor structure and internal consistency reliability of the OCHS-EBS-B, respectively. Point biserial correlations assessed agreement between the OCHS-EBS-B and Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview for Children and Adolescents (MINI-KID), a structured diagnostic interview. The Wilcoxon rank sum test compared OCHS-EBS-B scores between children with versus without physical-mental comorbidity (known-group validity).

RESULTS

The three-factor structure of the OCHS-EBS-B was replicated in this sample of children with physical illness (χ2 = 196.23(272), p < 0.001; CFI = 0.98; TLI = 0.98; SRMR = 0.06; RMSEA [90% CI] = 0.034 [0.027, 0.044]). It had excellent internal consistency reliability (ω = 0.86-0.92) and was moderately correlated with the MINI-KID (baseline: rpb = 0.43-0.51; 6 months: rpb = 0.55-0.65). OCHS-EBS-B scores were significantly higher among children with versus without physical-mental comorbidity.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings confirm psychometric evidence that the OCHS-EBS-B is a valid and reliable measure of mental health in children with chronic physical illness. Its brevity and robust psychometric properties make the OCHS-EBS-B a strong candidate for routine use in integrated pediatric physical and mental health services.

An Investigation of Inter-Rater and Intra-Proxy Agreement in Measuring Quality of Life of Children in the Community Using the EQ-5D-Y-3L

BACKGROUND

Self-reporting of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in children is not always feasible. To date, proxy perspectives (Proxy versions 1 and 2) using the EQ-5D-Y-3L have not been explored for its impact on agreement with child self-report. Proxy version 1 requires the proxy to consider their own view of the child's HRQoL (proxy-proxy), while with Proxy version 2, the proxy is asked to respond as they believe their child would self-report their HRQoL (proxy-child). This study compared the inter-rater and intra-proxy agreement (overall and dimension level) using the EQ-5D-Y-3L self, proxy-proxy, and proxy-child reports.

METHODS

A community-based sample of child (aged 6-12 years) and parent dyads were invited to participate in a semi-structured interview. The child self-completed the EQ-5D-Y-3L independently of the parent who completed the EQ-5D-Y-3L from proxy-proxy and proxy-child perspectives. Agreement was determined using Concordance Correlation Coefficients (CCCs) for the overall (preference-weighted) HRQoL, while agreement at the dimension level was evaluated using Gwet's agreement coefficient (AC1). To assess the differences between the self and the two proxy reports, the Wilcoxon matched-pair signed-rank test was used.

RESULTS

This study involved 85 child-parent dyads. The agreement between self and proxy overall HRQoL was low (fair) with both proxy-proxy (CCC = 0.28) and proxy-child (CCC = 0.26) reports. The largest discrepancy in the child-proxy agreement at dimension level with both the proxy versions was observed for 'feeling worried, sad or unhappy'. Within this dimension, the proxy-child perspective resulted in a stronger agreement (AC1 = 0.7, good) with child self-report compared with the traditional proxy-proxy perspective (AC1 = 0.58, moderate). Although the preference-weighted HRQoL was consistent across both the proxy perspectives, a significant difference was observed in the EQ VAS scores (p = 0.02).

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrates that choice of proxy perspective may have an impact on the problems reported on HRQoL dimensions and EQ VAS scores. However, in this community-based sample of generally healthy children, no significant difference was observed in the inter-rater agreement for child-self and proxy preference-weighted EQ-5D-Y-3L values based on proxy perspectives. While this suggests that preference-weighted data are not sensitive to the choice of perspective, these findings may differ for different HRQoL instruments and for alternative value sets with different properties.

Parent-child agreement on health-related quality of life: the role of perceived consequences of the child's chronic illness

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to assess the parent-child agreement on various domains of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in a Hungarian pediatric sample. We examined the associations of demographic, illness-specific factors and the perceived consequences of the illness with the parent-child disagreement.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional study was carried out with child-parent pairs in a heterogeneous pediatric sample (n = 259).

OUTCOME MEASURES

Child and parent versions of Kidscreen-52 and the consequences scale of the Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R) were applied. We used intraclass correlation coefficients to measure agreement. We computed directional discrepancies as dyadic indexes and applied them in multinomial regression analysis to identify factors influencing agreement.

RESULTS

Agreement between children and parents on the KIDSCREEN-52 instrument was moderate to good (ICC = 0.41 to 0.66). Significant (p < 0.005) parent-child disagreement was observed on 6 out of 10 dimensions of HRQoL: Parents rated their children's well-being lower on Physical Well-being, Psychological Well-being, Parent Relations and Home Life, Social Support and Peers, and Financial Resources scales and rated higher on Moods and Emotions compared to child-reported HRQoL. Both parent's and child's higher perceived illness consequences made disagreement significantly more likely on various domains.

CONCLUSIONS

Direction of disagreement may draw attention to potentially vulnerable domains of the child's well-being, like moods and emotions and self-perception.

Agreement of the 12-item World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS) 2.0 in parents and youth with physical illness living in Canada

PURPOSE

This study modelled the factor structure and tested for measurement invariance between youth and parent reports on the 12-item World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS) 2.0; estimated agreement between informants; and, examined moderators of youth-parent discrepancies.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Data come from the baseline wave of the Multimorbidity in Youth across the Life-course study (n = 117). Multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis was used to test for measurement invariance and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests compared informant scores. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and Bland-Altman limits of agreement plots were used to examine the youth-parent agreement.

RESULTS

The WHODAS 2.0 demonstrated measurement invariance [χ2 = 221.8(136), p < 0.01; RMSEA = 0.073 (0.055, 0.091); CFI = 0.962; and, SRMR = 0.078]. Youth typically reported more disability compared to parent proxies, with the exception of item Q5 (emotional). The agreement was low (ICC = 0.08-0.53). Youth sex moderated informant agreement such that more consistent agreement was seen for female youth (β = 0.54, p < .01) compared to male youth (β = 0.11, p = .29).

CONCLUSIONS

Youth and their parents interpret the construct of disability, as measured by the 12-item WHODAS 2.0, similarly. Thus, informant differences represent real differences that are not a consequence of error. Low parent-youth agreement reinforces the need for collecting multiple perspectives in the pediatric setting, especially for male youth.Implications for rehabilitationThe WHODAS 2.0 is one of the most widely used measures of disability and functioning.Measurement invariance of the WHODAS 2.0 suggests that youth and parents interpret the construct of disability similarly.Parent-youth agreement was low and youth typically report more disability compared to parent proxies.More consistent agreement with parents was found for female youth compared to male youth.

Listening to the Voice of the Hospitalized Child: Comparing Children's Experiences to Their Parents

BACKGROUND

Pediatric patients can provide feedback about their healthcare experiences. However, most do not and are instead represented by their parents. A widely accepted notion is that pediatric patients lack the capacity, vocabulary, and preferences needed to answer meaningful questions related to their healthcare. However, because the pediatric patients' experience can differ from the perspective of their parents, the use of proxy reporting ultimately reduces the hospital's ability to address the concerns of pediatric patients directly.

OBJECTIVES

The overall goals of this survey study were (1) to identify the key domains whereby pediatric patient and parent preferences differ and (2) to investigate the extent to which pediatric patients perceive their healthcare experiences differently from their parents.

METHODS

This study employed an adult version, an older child version, and a younger child version of a 47-question survey instrument divided into seven key domains: experience with the admission process, interactions with nurses, interactions with doctors, care in the hospital, hospital environment, experience before discharge, and overall score. The instrument was developed to survey children (ages 4-17) recently discharged from the hospital and their parents or guardian.

RESULTS

The findings suggest pediatric patients reported interest in engaging with their doctors about their healthcare. However, pediatric patients younger than 13 years old reported having fewer pediatric doctors ask them about their healthcare, with the youngest group reporting the worst experiences. Moreover, differences in perceptions were identified between pediatric patients and their parents regarding hospital quality and performance. Pediatric patients reported less pain and higher satisfaction regarding the cleanliness of the room and their experience in the admission process than their parents. Patient and parent responses were significantly different within each of the seven domains.

CONCLUSION

The results speak to the larger discussion of whether current hospital settings can engage with small children at the level necessary to capture meaningful feedback about their healthcare experience. By providing additional evidence to the contrary, this survey study brings further context to misconceptions regarding pediatric patients' involvement as crucial actors in the patient-and-family-centered care model.

Factors Associated with Discrepancy of Child-Adolescent/Parent Reported Quality of Life in the Era of COVID-19

Billions of children/adolescents experienced unprecedented changes in their daily lives that impacted their health-related quality of life (HRQoL) during the first wave of the coronavirus disease 2019. The purpose of this study was to describe child-parent discrepancies in reporting on HRQoL and explore factors associated with such discrepancies at the end of the first lockdown in France. A cross-sectional study was conducted among French school-aged children from 8 to 18 years and their parents living in the Grand Est region in France during the first wave of the epidemic. The impact of individual, self-reported health status and environmental data on discrepant parent-child reports of HRQoL was assessed by multinomial multivariable logistic regression models. A total of 471 parent-child pairs were included. Among 50% of the discordant pairs, parents underestimated HRQoL more frequently than they overestimated it. Home location, social support score, children's education level, parents' education level, tensions and conflicts with neighbors reported by children, whether they had access to a garden, and parents' professional activity were significantly associated with parental overestimation (_adjustedOR from 2.08 to 11.61; p < 0.05). Factors associated with parental underestimation were children's education level, SF12 score, home location, the child's gender, parent's level of education, the presence of noise in the residence reported by children, whether a household member was infected with COVID-19, whether they had access to a garden, and family structure (_adjustedOR from 1.60 to 4.0; p < 0.05). This study revealed differences between child-reported and parent-reported HRQoL. The COVID-19 pandemic accentuated the discrepancies in observable dimensions and attenuated them in unobservable dimensions of HRQoL but did not impact the directional discrepancy; parents underestimated their child's HRQoL more. These discrepancies appear to be explained by parent and child sociodemographic factors.

Agreement between parent-proxy and child self-report in pediatric hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome

Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (hEDS) is a common disorder in children and adolescents that negatively impacts health-related quality of life (HRQOL). It can include chronic pain, fatigue, autonomic dysfunction, and mood problems. The objective of this study was to examine levels of agreement between children and parents in the setting of hEDS and HRQOL. Individuals with hEDS, ages 10-20 years, and their parents were recruited to complete a series of surveys. Instruments included pediatric quality of life generic and multidimensional fatigue scales, Functional Disability Index, Pain-Frequency-Severity-Duration scale, Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire, and Herth Hope Index. Agreement on each measure was evaluated using statistical calculations. Thirty-six parent-child dyads completed the surveys. There were no significant differences between the means of parent and child scores. There was moderate to strong agreement on all survey scores. However, the proportion of dyads with disagreement was relatively high for each individual score. Eighteen dyads disagreed on at least half of the surveys. Body mass index centile and child perception of cognitive fatigue most strongly predicted disagreement in total HRQOL score. Proxy-reporters for children and adolescents with hEDS may agree with their child on average. However, due to significant frequency of clinically important disagreement, information from both children and their parents should be sought whenever possible.

Prevalence and Correlates of Physical-mental Multimorbidity in Outpatient Children From a Pediatric Hospital in Canada

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to estimate the six-month prevalence of mental illness in children with chronic physical illness (multimorbidity), examine agreement between parent and child reports of multimorbidity, and identify factors associated with child multimorbidity.

METHOD

The sample included 263 children aged 2-16 years with a physician-diagnosed chronic physical illness recruited from the outpatient clinics at a pediatric hospital. Children were categorized by physical illness according to the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD)-10. Parent and child-reported six-month mental illness was based on the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview for Children and Adolescents (MINI-KID).

RESULTS

Overall, 101 (38%) of children had a parent-reported mental illness; 29 (25%) children self-reported mental illness. There were no differences in prevalence across ICD-10 classifications. Parent-child agreement on the MINI-KID was low (κ = 0.18), ranging from κ = 0.24 for specific phobia to κ = 0.03 for attention-deficit hyperactivity. From logistic regression modeling (odds ratio [OR] and 95% confidence interval), factors associated with multimorbidity were: child age (OR = 1.16 [1.04, 1.31]), male (OR = 3.76 [1.54, 9.22]), ≥$90,000 household income (OR = 2.57 [1.08, 6.22]), parental symptoms of depression (OR = 1.09 [1.03, 1.14]), and child disability (OR = 1.21 [1.13, 1.30]). Similar results were obtained when modeling number of mental illnesses.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings suggest that six-month multimorbidity is common and similar across different physical illnesses. Level of disability is a robust, potentially modifiable correlate of multimorbidity that can be assessed routinely by health professionals in the pediatric setting to initiate early mental health intervention to reduce the incidence of multimorbidity in children.

Correlates of Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity in Children With Physical Illness and Physical-Mental Multimorbidity

This study measured physical activity (PA) and explored its correlates among children with multimorbidity (co-occurring chronic physical and mental illness; MM) versus those with chronic physical illness only (PI). This study used baseline data from the Multimorbidity in Children and Youth Across the Life Course (MY LIFE) study, an on-going cohort study following 263 children with a PI 2 to 16 years of age (mean age: 9.8 years, SD = 4.0; 47.7% female). PA was measured using accelerometry, and demographic and psychosocial variables were collected using questionnaires. Of the 55 children with MM and the 85 with PI with valid accelerometer data, 38.1% and 41.2%, respectively, met average daily PA guidelines. Correlates of moderate-to-physical PA (MVPA) among children with MM were age, ρ(53) = -0.45, p = .001, body mass index (BMI), ρ(48) = -0.28, p = .04, self-perceived behavioral conduct, ρ(24) = -0.45, p = .02, physical health-related quality of life, ρ(51) = 0.56, p < .001, and peer support, ρ(52) = 0.27, p = .04. Correlates of MVPA among children with PI were age, ρ(83) = -0.40, p < .001, sex, ρ(83) = -0.26, p = .01, self-perceived social competence, ρ(31) = 0.42, p = .02, self-perceived athletic competence, ρ(31) = 0.48, p = .005, physical health-related quality of life, ρ(83) = 0.34, p = .001, participation in community sport, ρ(31) = 0.41, p = .02, and family functioning, ρ(83) = 0.26, p = .02. These results demonstrate that children with PI and MM are insufficiently active and their PA is correlated with demographic and psychosocial factors.

EQ-5D-Y-3L and EQ-5D-Y-5L proxy report: psychometric performance and agreement with self-report

BACKGROUND

Self-report is the standard for measuring people's health-related quality of life (HRQoL), including children. However, in certain circumstances children cannot report their own health. For this reason, children's HRQoL measures often provide both a self-report and a proxy-report form. It is not clear whether the measurement properties will be the same for these two forms. We investigated whether it would be beneficial to extend the classification system of the EQ-5D-Y proxy questionnaire from 3 to 5 response levels. The agreement between self-report and proxy-report was assessed for both EQ-5D-Y measures.

METHODS

The study included 286 pediatric patients and their caregivers as proxies. At three consecutive measurements-baseline, test-retest and follow-up-the proxies assessed the child's HRQoL using the EQ-5D-Y-3L, EQ-5D-Y-5L, the PedsQL Generic, and matched disease-specific instruments. The proxy versions of EQ-5D-Y-3L and EQ-5D-Y-5L were compared in terms of feasibility, distribution properties, convergent validity, test-retest and responsiveness. Agreement between both EQ-5D-Y proxy versions to their respective self-report versions was assessed at baseline and follow-up.

RESULTS

The proportion of missing responses was 1% for the EQ-5D-Y-3L and 1.4% for the EQ-5D-Y-5L. The frequency of health state with no problems in all dimensions (11111) was slightly lower for the EQ-5D-Y-5L (21.3% vs 16.7%). Regarding the convergent validity with the PedsQL and disease-specific measures, the proxy versions of EQ-5D-Y-3L and EQ-5D-Y-5L had similar magnitudes of associations between similar dimensions. The means of test-retest coefficients between the two versions of the EQ-5D-Y proxy were comparable (0.83 vs. 0.84). Regarding reported improved conditions, responsiveness of the EQ-5D-Y-5L proxy (26.6-54.1%) was higher than that of the EQ-5D-Y-3L proxy (20.7-46.4%). Except for acutely ill patients, agreement between the EQ-5D-Y-5L proxy and self-reports was at least moderate.

CONCLUSIONS

Extending the number of levels of the proxy version of EQ-5D-Y can improve the classification accuracy and the ability to detect health changes over time. The level structure of EQ-5D-Y-5L was associated with a closer agreement between proxy and self-report. The study findings support extending the EQ-5D-Y descriptive system from 3 to 5 levels when administered by a proxy, which is often the case in the pediatric population.

Measuring health-related quality of life in young children with physical illness: psychometric properties of the parent-reported KIDSCREEN-27

PURPOSE

This study examined whether the KIDSCREEN-27 was reliable and valid in young children 2-7 years with chronic physical illnesses which included estimating inter-domain correlations and internal consistency; measurement invariance testing; and, discriminant and convergent validity assessments.

METHODS

Data come from the Multimorbidity in Children and Youth across the Life-course; a longitudinal study of individuals aged 2-16 years with physical illness. The parent-reported KIDSCREEN-27 was administered. Children (2-7 years; n = 106) were compared to adolescents (8-16 years; n = 157). Reliability was estimated using Cronbach α for internal consistency. Multiple group confirmatory factor analysis tested for measurement invariance. Cohen's d and Pearson coefficient were used to assess discriminant validity by sex and age. Convergent validity was tested using Pearson coefficients with the WHODAS 2.0 (child functioning/impairment). Multiple regression examined associations between multimorbidity (co-occurring physical and mental illness) and HRQL.

RESULTS

Internal consistency reliabilities were α = 0.74-0.88 (children) and α = 0.77-0.88 (adolescents). Inter-domain correlations were relatively low (children: r = 0.18-0.59; adolescents: r = 0.30-0.62) indicating that each KIDSCREEN-27 domain was measuring a unique aspect of health-related quality of life. Measurement invariance was demonstrated (scalar level). Parameter estimates of the invariant models were similar for children and adolescents. Small, non-significant correlations were found for sex and age for children and adolescents. Medium, significant correlations were found for both groups between the KIDSCREEN-27 and WHODAS 2.0. Children and adolescents with multimorbidity had significantly lower physical well-being, psychological well-being, and school environment scores compare to those without multimorbidity. Regression coefficients were similar between groups.

CONCLUSION

Findings provide evidence of adequate psychometrics for the KIDSCREEN-27 in young children with chronic physical illness.

COVID-19-Related Psychological and Psychosocial Distress Among Parents and Youth With Physical Illness: A Longitudinal Study

Despite the initial thrust of research aimed at understanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on youth with physical illness and their parents, knowledge gaps in the literature remain, providing the impetus for additional investigation. This study described changes in psychological distress from prior to during the COVID-19 pandemic for parents and youth with physical illness, compared parent-proxy and youth self-reported perceptions of COVID-19-related psychosocial health, and modeled factors associated with psychological and psychosocial distress. There were 147 parent-youth dyads (2-16 years) from MY LIFE-a longitudinal study of youth with physical illness. The Kessler-6 (K6) measured psychological distress for the time before the COVID-19 lockdown (December 19 to March 20) and during the pandemic (December 20 to March 21) among parents and youth. COVID-19-related psychosocial health was measured using the CRISIS. Parents and youth reported increases in K6 scores (d = 0.62 and 0.38). Parent-proxy reports on the K6 were lower vs. youth self-reports prior to and during the pandemic (d = 0.63 for both). In contrast, parents reported lower proxy CRISIS scores for worries (d = 0.38) and effects of social restrictions (d = 0.52). Pandemic parent K6 scores were associated with age, combined in-person and online schooling for youth, COVID-19-related worries, and effects of social restrictions. For youth, only COVID-19-related worries and effects of social restrictions were associated with K6 scores. Parent worries were associated with youth sex, parental stress, family functioning, online and combination learning, and social restrictions. Parental depression and worries were associated with effects of social restrictions. Youth worries were associated with online and combination learning, and social restrictions. Youth disability, online learning, and worries were associated with effects of social restrictions. Few clinical factors are associated with COVID-19-related psychological and psychosocial distress. Instead, parent/family factors and youth learning environment have prominent roles in predicting outcomes and have implications for the health, education, and social services systems.

Differences in Self-Rated Versus Parent Proxy-Rated Vision-Related Quality of Life and Functional Vision of Visually Impaired Children

PURPOSE

To investigate disagreement between children's self-reported vision-related quality of life (VQoL) and functional vision (FV) and their parents' proxy-reports.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study.

METHODS

A total of 152 children aged 7-18 years with visual impairment (VI) (defined by the World Health Organization), and their parents, were recruited from 22 National Health Service (NHS) ophthalmology departments in the United Kingdom. Age-appropriate versions of 2 vision-specific instruments, capturing VQoL and FV, were administered to children alongside modified versions for completion by parents on behalf of their child (ie, parent proxy-report). Disagreement between self-report and parent proxy-report was examined using the Bland-Altman (BA) method and a threshold of disagreement based on 0.5 standard deviation. Disagreement was analyzed according to participants' age, sex, and clinical characteristics, using logistic regression analyses.

RESULTS

Children rated themselves as having better outcomes than their parents did, although parents both under- and overestimated their child's VQoL (mean score difference = 7.7). With each year of increasing age, there was a 1.18 (1.04-1.35) higher odds of children self-rating their VQoL better than their parents (P = .013). Although parents consistently underestimated their child's FV (mean score difference = -4.7), no characteristics were significantly associated with differences in disagreement.

CONCLUSIONS

Disagreement between child self-report on the impact of VI and their parents' proxy-reports varies by age. This implies that self-report from children must remain the gold standard. Where self-reporting is not possible, parent proxy-reports may provide useful insights, but they must be interpreted with caution.

Health-related quality of life in children with and without physical-mental multimorbidity

PURPOSE

This study examined health-related quality of life (HRQL) in children across different physical illnesses; estimated parent-child agreement on HRQL reports; compared HRQL between children with and without physical-mental multimorbidity; and tested if multimorbidity was associated with HRQL.

METHODS

Children aged 6-16 years (mean = 11.1; n = 198) with one physical illness and their parents were recruited from a pediatric hospital. Physical illnesses were classified according to the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD)-10, mental illnesses were assessed using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview for Children and Adolescents, and HRQL was measured using the KIDSCREEN-27. Children who screened positive for ≥ 1 mental illness were classified as having physical-mental multimorbidity. χ²/t tests compared sample characteristics of children with vs. without multimorbidity; Kruskal-Wallis tests compared KIDSCREEN-27 scores across ICD-10 categories; interclass correlation coefficients estimated parent-child agreement; and multiple regression examined effects of the number of mental illnesses on HRQL.

RESULTS

HRQL was similar across ICD-10 categories. Parent-child agreement was fair to good for all HRQL domains, regardless of multimorbidity status. Parent-reported HRQL was significantly lower for children with multimorbidity compared to norms across all domains, whereas child-reported HRQL was significantly lower for physical well-being, psychological well-being, and school environment. Number of mental illnesses was negatively associated with psychological well-being and school environment in a dose-response manner.

CONCLUSION

Children with physical-mental multimorbidity are vulnerable to experiencing lower HRQL, particularly for psychological well-being and school environment. Longitudinal studies documenting trajectories of HRQL and school-based interventions that target these domains of HRQL for children with multimorbidity are warranted.

Subjective health in adolescence: Comparing the reliability of contemporaneous, retrospective, and proxy reports of overall health

Self-rated health (SRH) is one of the most important social science measures of health. Yet its measurement properties remain poorly understood. Most studies ignore the measurement error in SRH despite the bias resulting from even random measurement error. Our goal is to estimate the measurement reliability of SRH in contemporaneous, retrospective, and proxy indicators. We use the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health to estimate the reliability of SRH relative to proxy assessments and respondents' recollections of past health. Even the best indicators - contemporaneous self-reports - have a modest reliability of ~0.6; retrospective and proxy assessments fare much worse, with reliability less than 0.2. Moreover, not correcting for measurement error in SRH leads to a ~20-40% reduction in its correlation with other measures of health. Researchers should be skeptical of analyses that treat these subjective reports as explanatory variables and fail to take account of their substantial measurement error.

Cohort Profile: Multimorbidity in Children and Youth Across the Life-course (MY LIFE) Study

OBJECTIVE

This manuscript serves to provide an overview of the methods of the Multimorbidity in Children and Youth across the Life-course (MY LIFE) study, profile sample characteristics of the cohort, and provide baseline estimates of multimorbidity to foster collaboration with clinical and research colleagues across Canada.

METHOD

MY LIFE is comprised of 263 children (2-16 years) with a physical illness recruited from McMaster Children's Hospital, their primary caregiving parent, and their closest-aged sibling. Participants are followed with data collection at recruitment, 6, 12, and 24 months which includes structured interviews, self-reported measures, and biological samples and occur in a private research office or at participants' homes. Post-COVID-19, data collection transitioned to mail and telephone surveys.

RESULTS

At recruitment, children were 9.4 (4.2) years of age and 52.7% were male. The mean duration of their physical illness was 4.5 (4.1) years; 25% represent incident cases (duration <1 year). Most (69.7%) had healthy body weight and intelligence in the average range (73.5%). Overall, 38.2% of children screened positive for ≥1 mental illness according to parent report (24.8% screened positive based on child self-report). Compared to 2016 Census data, the MY LIFE cohort overrepresents families of higher socioeconomic status.

CONCLUSIONS

Multimorbidity is common among children and these baseline data will serve to measure relative changes in the mental health of children with physical illness over time. MY LIFE will provide new information for understanding multimorbidity among children, though underrepresentation of lower socioeconomic families may have implications for the generalizability of findings.

Physical Morbidity and Mental Health Care Among Young People

PURPOSE

This epidemiological study examined associations between morbidity status and mental health care use among young people.

METHODS

Data come from individuals aged 15-29 years (n = 5,630) in the Canadian Community Health Survey-Mental Health (2012). Physical health problems were measured using a standard checklist. The Composite International Diagnostic Interview assessed 12-month mental health and substance use problems. Individuals were asked which types of mental health care they had received in the past year. Logistic, ordinal, and multinomial regression models were computed and the method of variance estimates recovery was used to compare estimates.

RESULTS

Individuals with comorbid physical health problems had higher odds of mental health care use for those with mental (odds ratio [OR] = 12.54 [7.07, 22.25]) and substance use problems (OR = 2.97 [1.75, 5.05]). While these estimates were higher than for individuals without physical comorbidity, differences were not statistically significant. For mental health care needs not being met, associations were found for individuals with mental (OR = 2.56 [1.24, 5.26]) or substance use problems only (OR = 2.48 [1.06, 5.82]).

CONCLUSIONS

Odds of perceiving the need for and using mental health care were high in individuals with a physical comorbidity, but similar to those with mental health or substance use problems only. Young people with a physical comorbidity were less likely to report that their mental health needs are not being met compared to those with mental health or substance use problems only. Research is needed to understand barriers and facilitators faced by young people with mental health or substance use problems as they navigate the health system.

Challenges and opportunities in measuring the pediatric quality of life: exemplified by research in pediatric gastroenterology

Introduction: Quality of life (QOL) is an important patient-reported outcome measure (PROM). Assessment of QOL in children is challenging particularly because developmental age affects the accuracy of self-reports.Areas covered: This paper gives an overview and expert opinion of the factors impacting quality assessment of pediatric QOL. Given this literature is vast, we focused on QOL measurement in pediatric gastroenterological conditions as an example, but the general principles apply across childhood chronic diseases. Child developmental stage affects self-reports. Younger children are less reliable reporters implicating the need for parental proxies. However, parents may not be as cognizant of their child's internal life especially as the child grows older. Adjustment to disease (QOL initially decreases then improves) as well as the time of year (QOL improves during summer) affects reports of QOL. Furthermore, it is important to acknowledge the impact of the child's disease on caregivers and families' QOL.Expert opinion: The numerous aspects impacting pediatric QOL make assessment and measurement complex. We propose several strategies to guide this process such as assessing both self-report and parent-proxy measures, as well as considering the timing of QOL assessments.

Hair Cortisol and Health-Related Quality of Life in Children with Mental Disorder

Introduction

Children living with mental disorder are at risk for lower health-related quality of life (HRQoL) compared to their peers. While evidence suggests that cortisol dysregulation is implicated in the onset of mental disorder, the extent to which cortisol is associated with HRQoL is largely unknown. Further, it remains unknown how comorbid physical illness may alter this relationship. This study examined whether the presence of a comorbid physical illness moderated the association between hair cortisol concentration (HCC) and HRQoL among children with mental disorder.

Methods

One-hundred children (4-17 years) receiving care from a pediatric hospital were recruited. The Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview was used to measure mental disorder and the KIDSCREEN-27 to assess HRQoL. Cortisol extracted from children's hair was assayed using high-sensitivity ELISA. Multiple regression analyses tested the association between HCC and HRQoL.

Results

Presence of a physical illness was found to moderate the relationship between HCC and HRQoL in the domain of peers and social support [comorbidity: β = −0.57 (−0.97, −0.17); no comorbidity: β = 0.22 (−0.11, 0.55)].

Conclusion

The association between HCC and HRQoL in children with mental disorder is moderated by the presence of a physical illness, such that in children with comorbid physical and mental disorder, elevated HCC is associated with lower HRQoL. Approaches that reduce stress in these children may help promote optimal well-being. More research investigating physiological stress and psychosocial outcomes in children with mental disorder, particularly those with comorbid physical illness, is needed.

An intervention to improve the quality of life in children of parents with serious mental illness: the Young SMILES feasibility RCT

BACKGROUND

Quality of life for children and adolescents living with serious parental mental illness can be impaired, but evidence-based interventions to improve it are scarce.

OBJECTIVE

Co-production of a child-centred intervention [called Young Simplifying Mental Illness plus Life Enhancement Skills (SMILES)] to improve the health-related quality of life of children and adolescents living with serious parental mental illness, and evaluating its acceptability and feasibility for delivery in NHS and community settings.

DESIGN

Qualitative and co-production methods informed the development of the intervention (Phase I). A feasibility randomised controlled trial was designed to compare Young SMILES with treatment as usual (Phase II). Semistructured qualitative interviews were used to explore acceptability among children and adolescents living with their parents, who had serious mental illness, and their parents. A mixture of semistructured qualitative interviews and focus group research was used to examine feasibility among Young SMILES facilitators and referrers/non-referrers.

SETTING

Randomisation was conducted after baseline measures were collected by the study co-ordinator, ensuring that the blinding of the statistician and research team was maintained to reduce detection bias.

PARTICIPANTS

Phase I: 14 children and adolescents living with serious parental mental illness, seven parents and 31 practitioners from social, educational and health-related sectors. Phase II: 40 children and adolescents living with serious parental mental illness, 33 parents, five referrers/non-referrers and 16 Young SMILES facilitators.

INTERVENTION

Young SMILES was delivered at two sites: (1) Warrington, supported by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), and (2) Newcastle, supported by the NHS and Barnardo's. An eight-session weekly group programme was delivered, with four to six children and adolescents living with serious parental mental illness per age-appropriate group (6-11 and 12-16 years). At week 4, a five-session parallel weekly programme was offered to the parents/carers. Sessions lasted 2 hours each and focused on improving mental health literacy, child-parent communication and children's problem-solving skills.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Phase ll children and parents completed questionnaires at randomisation and then again at 4 and 6 months post randomisation. Quality of life was self-reported by children and proxy-reported by parents using the Paediatric Quality of Life questionnaire and KIDSCREEN. Semistructured interviews with parents (n = 14) and children (n = 17) who participated in the Young SMILES groups gathered information about their motivation to sign up to the study, their experiences of participating in the group sessions, and their perceived changes in themselves and their family members following intervention. Further interviews with individual referrers (n = 5) gathered information about challenges to recruitment and randomisation. Two focus groups (n = 16) with practitioners who facilitated the intervention explored their views of the format and content of the Young SMILES manual and their suggestions for changes.

RESULTS

A total of 35 families were recruited: 20 were randomly allocated to Young SMILES group and 15 to treatment as usual. Of those, 28 families [15/20 (75%) in the intervention group and 13/15 (87%) in the control group] gave follow-up data at the primary end point (4 months post baseline). Participating children had high adherence to the intervention and high completion rates of the questionnaires. Children and adolescents living with their parents, who had serious mental illness, and their parents were mainly very positive and enthusiastic about Young SMILES, both of whom invoked the benefits of peer support and insight into parental difficulties. Although facilitators regarded Young SMILES as a meaningful and distinctive intervention having great potential, referrers identified several barriers to referring families to the study. One harm was reported by a parent, which was dealt with by the research team and the NSPCC in accordance with the standard operating procedures.

LIMITATIONS

The findings from our feasibility study are not sufficient to recommend a fully powered trial of Young SMILES in the near future. Although it was feasible to randomise children and adolescents living with serious parental mental illness of different ages to standardised, time-limited groups in both NHS and non-NHS settings, an intervention like Young SMILES is unlikely to address underlying core components of the vulnerability that children and adolescents living with serious parental mental illness express as a population over time.

CONCLUSIONS

Young SMILES was widely valued as unique in filling a recognised gap in need. Outcome measures in future studies of interventions for children and adolescents living with serious parental mental illness are more likely to capture change in individual risk factors for reduced quality of life by considering their unmet need, rather than on an aggregate construct of health-related quality of life overall, which may not reflect these young people's needs.

FUTURE WORK

A public health approach to intervention might be best. Most children and adolescents living with serious parental mental illness remain well most of the time, so, although their absolute risks are low across outcomes (and most will remain resilient most of the time), consistent population estimates find their relative risk to be high compared with unexposed children. A public health approach to intervention needs to be both tailored to the particular needs of children and adolescents living with serious parental mental illness and agile to these needs so that it can respond to fluctuations over time.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN36865046.

FUNDING

This project was funded by the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment programme and will be published in full in Health Technology Assessment; Vol. 24, No. 59. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information.

Experiences of Caregivers as Clients of a Patient Navigation Program for Children and Youth with Complex Care Needs: A Qualitative Descriptive Study

The number of Canadian children and youth with complex care needs has continued to rise, and their need for resources across all sectors can be extensive. Navigating the maze of resources and services can create confusion and impact how care is delivered and integrated. Patient navigators can help support and guide patients and caregivers through the healthcare system by matching their needs to appropriate resources with the aim to improve access and promote the integration of care. This qualitative study explored caregivers’ experiences caring for a child or youth with complex care needs, and their experiences and satisfaction as clients of a patient navigation centre. Participants included 22 clients from NaviCare/SoinsNavi, a patient navigation centre in Canada for children and youth with complex care needs and their families. Three main themes emerged: 1) caring for a child or youth with complex care needs, 2) navigating the system, and 3) the value of patient navigation. Findings suggest caregivers caring for a child or youth with complex care needs often feel overwhelmed, fearful, and alone; yet, patient navigation can be an innovative approach to support their needs through facilitating more convenient and integrated care, and improving access to education, supports, and resources.

Concordance between paediatric self-reports and parent proxy reports on fatigue: A multicentre prospective longitudinal study

PURPOSE

To investigate the degree of concordance on fatigue assessment between children and adolescents with cancer and their parents, and its changes over time.

METHOD

Multicentre longitudinal study.

RESULTS

Data from 134 dyads were analysed. The mean age of patients was 11.7 years; caregivers had a mean age of 44.1 years. Almost 90% of patients already reported mild or moderate fatigue at the time of diagnosis, decreasing to 69.7% after one year. Concordance on the total fatigue improved over time for the total sample, moving from moderate at the time of diagnosis to good concordance after one year.

CONCLUSIONS

This was the first study with a longitudinal design investigating concordance between paediatric self-reports and parent proxy reports on fatigue. It showed how concordance between proxies and patients changed over time reaching a good level after one year from the cancer diagnosis.

Parent Proxy Discrepancy Groups of Quality of Life in Childhood Epilepsy

OBJECTIVES

To study the extent to which parents are able to serve as true proxies for their children with epilepsy using a more granular approach than has been found in any study to date.

METHODS

Proxy resemblance to the child was based on discrepancy in z-centered child minus parent scores of matching quality-of-life (QOL) domains for 477 dyads. Latent class mixed models (LCMMs) were built, with child's age as the independent variable for epilepsy-specific and generic QOL. Data were obtained from the QUALITÉ Canadian cohort, which recruited children with epilepsy aged 8 to 14 years at baseline and their parents.

RESULTS

Both epilepsy-specific and generic LCMMs produced latent classes representing proxies that were overly positive, overly negative, or in agreement relative to their children with posterior probabilities of 79% to 84%. The "agreement" classes had N = 411 and N = 349 in the epilepsy-specific and generic LCMMs, respectively. The epilepsy-specific LCMM had a small unique class of N = 5 with a posterior probability of 88% called "growing discrepancy."

CONCLUSIONS

Most parents of children with epilepsy can serve as valid proxies for their children on QOL scales. Poorer parental adaptation is more related to overly negative proxies, whereas low peer support from the child's perspective is more related to overly positive proxies.

Chronicity of mental comorbidity in children with new-onset physical illness

BACKGROUND

Evidence suggests that physical and mental illnesses are strongly correlated in children. This study examined patterns of the chronicity of multimorbidity (co-occurring physical and mental illness); estimated homotypic continuity; and modelled factors associated with chronicity in children newly diagnosed with a chronic physical illness.

METHODS

Children aged 6-16 years diagnosed with one of asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, food allergy, or juvenile arthritis were recruited from two children's hospitals and followed for 6 months. Child mental illness was measured using the parent-reported Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview and Ontario Child Health Study Emotional Behavioural Scales at baseline and 6 months later. Children were stratified into three groups: no multimorbidity, acute (multimorbidity at only one assessment), and persistent (multimorbidity at both assessments).

RESULTS

Forty-nine children were available for analysis: no multimorbidity (n = 18), acute (n = 13), and persistent (n = 18). Homotypic continuity was highest for conduct disorder (67.5%) and lowest for major depression (16.7%). Unadjusted analyses showed positive associations between child and parent behavioural symptoms, as well as family functioning with persistent multimorbidity. These associations remained after adjustment, ranging from odds ratio (OR) = 1.29 [1.01, 1.64] for depression to OR = 1.61 [1.11, 2.33] and OR = 1.61 [1.10, 2.35] for attention-deficit hyperactivity and oppositional defiant, respectively, in child models. In parent models, associations remained for parental anxiety (OR = 1.18 [1.04, 1.34]) and stress (OR = 1.15 [1.02, 1.31]).

CONCLUSIONS

Multimorbidity is persistent in children newly diagnosed with physical illnesses, regardless of the mental comorbidity experienced. Integrating family-centred mental health services soon after the diagnosis of a physical illness should be prioritized in pediatric settings.

Mental-Physical Multimorbidity in Youth: Associations with Individual, Family, and Health Service Use Outcomes

Prevalence, correlates, and outcomes of youth with comorbid mental and physical conditions (i.e., multimorbidity) were examined in this cross-sectional study. Participants were 92 youth (14.5 years [SD 2.7]; 69.6% female) and their parents. Mental disorder was assessed using structured interviews and physical health using a standardized questionnaire. Twenty-five percent of youth had multimorbidity and no child or parent demographic or health characteristics were correlated with multimorbidity. Youth with multimorbidity reported similar quality of life and better family functioning [B = - 4.80 (- 8.77, - 0.83)] compared to youth with mental disorder only (i.e., non-multimorbid). Youth with multimorbidity had lower odds of receiving inpatient services [OR = 0.20 (0.05, 0.85)] and shorter stays in hospital for their mental health [OR = 0.74 (0.57, 0.91)] over the past year. Family functioning was found to mediate the association between youth multimorbidity and length of stay [αβ = 0.14 (0.01, 0.27)]. Findings reinforce the need for family-centered youth mental health care.

Health-Related Quality of Life in Children and Adults with Primary Immunodeficiencies: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND

Primary immunodeficiency diseases (PIDs) are a group of diseases that have been found to have an adverse impact on quality of life and health-related quality of life (HRQOL).

OBJECTIVE

To systematically assess available evidence on the HRQOL of patients with PID.

METHODS

We performed a literature search of all studies reporting HRQOL assessments in patients with PID published in English from inception to April 11, 2017, using MEDLINE and EMBASE.

RESULTS

Of 1699 articles, 37 met the inclusion criteria. HRQOL was assessed by using various generic instruments. Child Health Questionnaire - Parent Form 50 and short-form 36 were the most frequently used (for children and adults, respectively). No PID-specific HRQOL instruments were used for children. HRQOL is significantly lower in adults with PID (mean score difference, -24.46; 95% CI, -34.57 to -14.34) and children (-10.06; 95% CI, -12.95 to -7.17) compared with the reference population and lower than in patients with other chronic conditions. There is a general agreement between child- and parent-reported data, although parents report child school-related HRQOL as more impaired than do children (6.19; 95% CI, 0.38 to 11.99). Most studies were of low to moderate quality and had methodological limitations.

CONCLUSIONS

Available evidence suggests that patients with PID have a lower HRQOL than do healthy individuals and patients with other chronic conditions, including diabetes mellitus and juvenile idiopathic arthritis. No disease-specific instruments are available for children, and few options are available for adults. This finding highlights the need for developing PID-specific instruments that would allow for a more sensitive evaluation of PID impact on patient health and psychological well-being, school/work, and social activities.

Assessment of quality of life in pediatric patients with pulmonary hypertension

The aim of this study is to evaluate quality of life in four domains (physical, emotional, social, and school) in pediatric patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH) using a validated survey (PedsQL). This is a prospective cohort study of pediatric patients aged 2–18 years with PH. Parents of all children and patients aged 8–18 years with appropriate developmental capacity completed the PedsQL survey in the clinic. Results were compared with published norms for pediatric patients, those with congenital heart disease (CHD) and cancer. Thirty-three children were enrolled yielding 32 parent and 18 patient self-reports: seven patients were aged 2–4 years; three were aged 5–7 years; 11 were aged 8–12 years, and 12 were aged 13–18 years. Twenty-one patients were classified as World Health Organization (WHO) Group I pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), 11 WHO Group III PH due to lung disease, and one WHO Group V with segmental PH. Thirteen patients were NYHA functional class (FC) 1, 12 were FC 2, eight were FC 3, and none were FC 4. The PH cohort had significantly lower scores than healthy children in all domains on both parent and self-report. The PH cohort also had significantly lower scores than patients with CHD (parent report: total, physical, social, school; patient self-report: total, physical, school) and cancer (parent report: school; patient self-report: physical, school). Close to 50% of participants reported at risk scores in each domain. The quality of life in pediatric PH patients assessed by PedsQL revealed functional impairment in multiple domains. Administration of the PedsQL during outpatient encounters may provide an easy, reproducible method to assess quality of life and direct referral for interventional services.

Agreement of child and parent-proxy reported health-related quality of life in children with mental disorder

PURPOSE

The purpose of the study was to test whether elevated levels of depressive and anxiety symptoms affect parent-proxy reports of health-related quality of life (HRQL) of children with mental disorder.

METHODS

A sample of 114 children, who screened positive for mental disorder using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview were studied. Parents' depressive symptoms were measured using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and anxiety symptoms using the State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). To examine whether parental psychopathology moderated their reports of child HRQL (using the KIDSCREEN-27), a series of multiple regression analyses with product-term interactions were conducted.

RESULTS

Significant interactions were found for the moderating effect of parental depressive [β = 0.025 (0.007, 0.042)] and anxiety symptoms [β = 0.033 (0.011, 0.054)] on the domain of child social support and peers relations, as well as for the moderating effect of parental levels of depression on parent proxy child physical well-being [β = - 0.017 (- 0.031, - 0.003)]. Parents with elevated levels of depressive or anxiety symptoms reported lower scores for those domains of child HRQL.

CONCLUSIONS

Symptoms of depression and anxiety in parents influence their reports of the HRQL of their children with mental disorder, particularly in the areas of physical well-being and social support and peers. Given the importance of patient-reported outcomes in the assessment and monitoring of children with chronic conditions, including HRQL, health professionals caring for children with mental disorder should be aware of how parental psychopathology contributes to informant bias. Future research examining why psychopathology influences parental reports of child HRQL is warranted.