Abstract

ROIZEN, Mariana; FIGUEROA, Carlos; SALVIA, Lucía  and  COMITE DE CALIDAD DE VIDA Y SALUD. Calidad de vida relacionada con la salud en niños con enfermedades crónicas: comparación de la visión de los niños, sus padres y sus médicos. Arch. argent. pediatr. [online]. 2007, vol.105, n.4, pp.305-313. ISSN 0325-0075.

Introduction. Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is a useful indicator in pediatrics patients with chronic diseases. Our objective was to compare the view of children and adolescents with chronic diseases on HRQOL according to themselves, their parents and their physicians. Population and methods. Cross-sectional study. Families of children with chronic diseases between 2-18 years attending ambulatory were included consecutively. Visual Analogue Scales were used (score 0-10) to evaluate the HRQOL of children (according to children, parents and physicians, independently) and their health condition (according to physicians); preferences of children and parents about important aspects of HRQOL to be investigated were kept. Analysis of the differences by related t-test and correlation by Spearman test. Results. 287 families were included. The average score was: children 8.35 ± 1.78, parents 8.23 ± 1.57, physicians 6.91 ± 1.90, with differences among the 3 groups (p <0.05). The correlation between the score of each child and his/her parent was regular (r: 0.42) and between both of them with their clinician was poor (r <0.30), higher in patients between 8-12 yearsold and with longer time of evolution of the disease, and different depending on diagnosis. Doctors alluded strong negative correlation (r: -0.61, p <0.001) between HRQOL and compromised health of their patients, and children and parents pointed out a big necessity to be inquired in multiple aspects. Conclusions. The view of children, their parents and doctors is different. Instruments are useful but they are not sufficient to evaluate the HRQOL.

Keywords : Health-related quality of life; Visual analogue scale; Chronic diseases.

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