Reliability and Validity of Ethiopian Amharic Version of the PedsQL™ 4.0 Generic Core Scales and PedsQL™ 3.0 Diabetes Module

Background: The PedsQL (TM) 4.0 generic core scales (GCS) assess the generic health by integrating with disease-specific PedsQL (TM) 3.0 diabetes module (DM). The PedsQL (TM) 3.0 DM measures the health-related quality of life (HrQoL) specific to diabetes. Even though there is no translation to Ethiopian Amharic, the instruments had translated to different languages and validated. The study is aimed to assess the validity and reliability of the Amharic version of the PedsQL (TM) 4.0 GCS and the PedsQL (TM) 3.0 DM in children and adolescents with diabetes. Methods: PedsQL (TM) 4.0 GCS and the PedsQL (TM) 3.0 DM were administered on 193 children and adolescents with diabetes and their parents. The validity was examined by the exploratory factor analysis, multitrait/multi-item scaling analysis, and multitrait-multimethod and monotrait-multimethod analysis. Cronbach's alpha coefficient checked the reliability. Results: Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the total PedsQL (TM) 4.0 GCS (a child self-report= 0.96; a parent proxy report= 0.95) and for total PedsQL (TM) 3.0 DM (a child self-report= 0.96; a parent proxy report=0.93) were acceptable at individual patient-level analysis. The monotrait-multimethod correlations were higher than multitrait-multimethod correlations. In multitrait/multi-item scale analysis, both total PedsQL (TM) 4.0 GCS and PedsQL (TM) 3.0 DM had an excellent item convergent and discriminatory validity success rate. Conclusion: The Amharic versions of the PedsQL (TM) 4.0 GCS and the PedsQL (TM) 3.0 DM were valid and reliable instruments to measure the HrQoL of children and adolescents with diabetes.

Automated summary

The study assessed the validity and reliability of the Amharic version of the PedsQL (TM) 4.0 GCS and the PedsQL (TM) 3.0 DM in children and adolescents with diabetes. The results showed that these questionnaires had good reliability and validity at the individual patient level analysis.