Journal
BRITISH JOURNAL OF DERMATOLOGY
Volume 178, Issue 1, Pages 161-175Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/bjd.15853
Keywords
-
Categories
Funding
- Cardiff University Dermatology Department
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Background Skin disease can affect the quality of life (QoL) of teenagers in a variety of different ways, some being unique to this age group. Objectives To develop and validate a dermatology-specific QoL instrument for adolescents with skin diseases. Methods Qualitative semistructured interviews were conducted with adolescents with skin disease to gain in-depth understanding of how skin diseases affect their QoL. A prototype instrument based on the themes identified from content analysis of interviews was tested in several stages, using classical test theory and item response theory models to develop this new tool and conduct its psychometric evaluation. Results Thirty-three QoL issues were identified from semistructured interviews with 50 adolescents. A questionnaire based on items derived from content analysis of interviews was subjected to Rasch analysis: factor analysis identified three domains, therefore not supporting the validity of T-QoL as a unidimensional measure. Psychometric evaluation of the final 18-item questionnaire was carried out in a cohort of 203 adolescents. Convergent validity was demonstrated by significant correlation with Skindex-Teen and Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) or Children's DLQI. The T-QoL showed excellent internal consistency reliability: Cronbach's alpha = 0.89 for total scale score and 0.85, 0.60 and 0.74, respectively, for domains 1, 2 and 3. Test-retest reliability was high in stable volunteers. T-QoL showed sensitivity to change in two subgroups of patients who indicated change in their self-assessed disease severity. Conclusions Built on rich qualitative data from patients, the T-QoL is a simple and valid tool to quantify the impact of skin disease on adolescents' QoL; it could be used as an outcome measure in both clinical practice and clinical research.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available