Psychometric properties of the DISABKIDS Chronic Generic Module (DCGM-37) when used in children undergoing treatment for cancer

Health and Quality of Life Outcomes

Research

Peter Hagell¹  Eva M Johansson²  Lena Wettergren³  Margareta af Sandeberg⁴ 

[1] Department of Health Sciences, Lund University, Sweden;Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, and Red Cross College University, Stockholm, Sweden;Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, Sweden;Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, Sweden;Department of Pediatric Oncology, The Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden;

关键词: Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia;    Social Exclusion;    Social Inclusion;    Pediatric Oncology;    Dimension Score;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1477-7525-8-109

 received in 2010-05-13, accepted in 2010-09-28,  发布年份 2010

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe aim was to evaluate data quality and psychometric properties of an instrument for measurement of health-related quality of life: DISABKIDS Chronic Generic Module (DCGM-37) used in school-aged children with cancer.MethodsAll school-children diagnosed with cancer in Sweden during a two-and-a-half year period were invited to participate in the study. Analysis was performed on combined data from two assessments, two and-a-half and five months after start of cancer treatment (n = 170). The instrument was examined with respect to feasibility, data quality, reliability and construct and criterion-based validity.ResultsMissing items per dimension ranged from 0 to 5.3 percent, with a majority below three percent. Cronbach's alpha values exceeded 0.70 for all dimensions. There was support for the suggested groupings of items into dimensions for all but six of the 36 items of the DCGM-37 included in this study. The instrument discriminated satisfactorily between diagnoses reflecting treatment burden.ConclusionsThe results indicate satisfactory data quality and reliability of the DCGM-37 when used in children undergoing treatment for cancer. Evaluation of construct validity showed generally acceptable results, although not entirely supporting the suggested dimensionality. Continued psychometric evaluation in a larger sample of children during and after treatment for cancer is recommended.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© af Sandeberg et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2010