Children (Sep 2023)

Collecting Paediatric Health-Related Quality of Life Data: Assessing the Feasibility and Acceptability of the Australian Paediatric Multi-Instrument Comparison (P-MIC) Study

  • Renee Jones,
  • Rachel O’Loughlin,
  • Xiuqin Xiong,
  • Mina Bahrampour,
  • Kristy McGregor,
  • Shilana Yip,
  • Nancy Devlin,
  • Harriet Hiscock,
  • Brendan Mulhern,
  • Kim Dalziel,
  • on behalf of the Quality of Life in Kids: Key Evidence to Strengthen Decisions in Australia (QUOKKA) Project Team

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/children10101604
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 10, no. 10
p. 1604

Abstract

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Background: Collecting data using paediatric health-related quality of life (HRQoL) instruments is complex, and there is a paucity of evidence regarding the comparative performance of paediatric HRQoL instruments. The Australian Paediatric Multi-Instrument Comparison (P-MIC) study was conducted to address this paucity of evidence. This study aims to understand the (1) feasibility of collecting data using paediatric HRQoL instruments in a research setting and (2) acceptability and feasibility for children and their caregivers to complete common paediatric HRQoL instruments using data from the Australian P-MIC study. Methods: Data were from children aged 5–18 years from the Australian P-MIC study. Demographics, cost and time for data collection, dropout rates, and inconsistent responses were used to assess Aim 1. Participant-reported difficulty and completion time were used to assess Aim 2. Subgroup analyses included child age, report type (self/proxy), sample recruitment pathway (hospital/online), and online panel sample type (general population/condition groups). Results: Overall, 5945 P-MIC participants aged 5–18 years completed an initial survey, of these, 2346 also completed the follow-up survey (39.5% response rate). Compared with online panel recruitment, hospital recruitment was more costly and time-consuming and had higher follow-up completion (33.5% versus 80.4%) (Aim 1). Data were of similar good quality (based on inconsistent responses) for both recruitment pathways (Aim 1). Participants completed each instrument in 70% reported each instrument as easy to complete (Aim 2). Conclusions: The Australian P-MIC study was able to collect good-quality data using both online panel and hospital recruitment pathways. All instruments were acceptable and feasible to children and their caregivers.

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