German translation of the PROMIS® pediatric anxiety, anger, depressive symptoms, fatigue, pain interference and peer relationships item banks.

BACKGROUND: The present study aimed at the translation and cross-cultural adaptation of six PROMIS® pediatric self- and proxy- item banks and short forms to universal German: anxiety (ANX), anger (ANG), depressive symptoms (DEP), Fatigue (FAT), pain interference (P) and peer relationships (PR). METHODS: Using standardized methodology approved by the PROMIS Statistical Center and in line with recommendations of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) PRO Translation Task Force, two translators for each German-speaking country (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland) commented on and rated the translation difficulty and provided forward translations, followed by a review and reconciliation phase. An independent translator performed back translations, which were reviewed and harmonized. The items were tested in cognitive interviews with 58 children and adolescents from Germany (16), Austria (22), and Switzerland (20) for the self-report and 42 parents and other caregivers (Germany (12), Austria (17), and Switzerland (13)) for the proxy-report. RESULTS: Translators rated the translation difficulty of most items (95%) as easy or feasible. Pretesting showed that items of the universal German version were understood as they were intended, as only 14 out of 82 items of the self-report and 15 out of 82 items of the proxy-report versions required minor rewording. However, on average German translators rated the items more difficult to translate (M = 1.5, SD = 0.20) than the Austrian (M = 1.3, SD = 0.16) and the Swiss translators (M = 1.2, SD = 0.14) on a three-point Likert scale. CONCLUSIONS: The translated German short forms are ready for use by researchers and clinicians ( https://www.healthmeasures.net/search-view-measures ).

A multitude of questionnaires exist, which are not comparable due to different questions or no available translations. PROMIS is an initiative, which was funded by the National Institute of Health in the US, to build better, i.e., more precise and efficient questionnaires, which can be used and compared worldwide. The PROMIS questionnaires include paper-and-pencil short forms and computerized adaptive tests. So far numerous PROMIS surveys have been created using advanced methodologies. They can be used by health care professionals to assess different aspects of health and compare the results internationally. To allow for international comparability of studies using those questionnaires, they need to be translated. This study reports the thorough translation process of the US-American PROMIS^® questionnaires measuring anxiety, anger, depressive symptoms, fatigue, pain interference, and peer relationships in children and adolescents into German. The translation included researchers, children, and parents from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland to ensure that the final German version is fully and equally well understood in all of those German-speaking countries. The article describes the translation process, so that the user can understand the translations and use them in an informed way. The translated German questionnaires are ready for use by researchers and clinicians. ( https://www.healthmeasures.net/search-view-measures ).

A new computerized adaptive test advancing the measurement of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in children: the Kids-CAT.

PURPOSE: Assessing health-related quality of life (HRQoL) via Computerized Adaptive Tests (CAT) provides greater measurement precision coupled with a lower test burden compared to conventional tests. Currently, there are no European pediatric HRQoL CATs available. This manuscript aims at describing the development of a HRQoL CAT for children and adolescents: the Kids-CAT, which was developed based on the established KIDSCREEN-27 HRQoL domain structure. METHODS: The Kids-CAT was developed combining classical test theory and item response theory methods and using large archival data of European KIDSCREEN norm studies (n = 10,577-19,580). Methods were applied in line with the US PROMIS project. Item bank development included the investigation of unidimensionality, local independence, exploration of Differential Item Functioning (DIF), evaluation of Item Response Curves (IRCs), estimation and norming of item parameters as well as first CAT simulations. RESULTS: The Kids-CAT was successfully built covering five item banks (with 26-46 items each) to measure physical well-being, psychological well-being, parent relations, social support and peers, and school well-being. The Kids-CAT item banks proved excellent psychometric properties: high content validity, unidimensionality, local independence, low DIF, and model conform IRCs. In CAT simulations, seven items were needed to achieve a measurement precision between .8 and .9 (reliability). It has a child-friendly design, is easy accessible online and gives immediate feedback reports of scores. CONCLUSIONS: The Kids-CAT has the potential to advance pediatric HRQoL measurement by making it less burdensome and enhancing the patient-doctor communication.

Self-reported recurrent pain and medicine use behaviours among 15-year olds: results from the international study.

BACKGROUND: There is considerable variation in adolescent pain prevalence across epidemiological studies, with limited information on pain-related behaviours among adolescents, including medicine use. The aims of this study were (1) to examine the prevalence of recurrent pain among 15-year-old adolescents internationally; (2) to investigate the association between recurrent pain and medicine use behaviours among boys and girls; and (3) to evaluate the consistency of these associations across countries. METHODS: The World Health Organization (WHO) collaborative international Health Behaviour in School-aged Children 2009/2010 study collects data about self-reported aches and medicine use from 36,762 15-year-old adolescents from 22 countries/regions in Europe and the United States. Multi-level multivariate logistic regression, stratified by gender, was used to analyse the association between recurrent pain and medicine use for headache, stomachache, nervousness and difficulties in getting to sleep. RESULTS: More than 30% of adolescents reported recurrent headache, almost 30% recurrent backache and approximately 20% recurrent stomachache. Although pain prevalence and medicine use for aches were much higher for girls, the association between pain and medicine use was similarly strong for both genders. Adolescents with recurrent pain are more likely to use medicines also for non-corresponding pain, nervousness and difficulties in getting to sleep. The association between recurrent pain and medicine use was consistent across countries despite large-country differences in the prevalence of recurrent pain and medicine use. CONCLUSIONS: Recurrent pain in adolescence is common cross-nationally. Adolescents with recurrent pain are more likely to use medicine in general. Recurrent pain and medicine use should be addressed in adolescent health policies.