Development and validation of a self‐administered Food Allergy Quality of Life Questionnaire for children
- 6 January 2009
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Wiley in Clinical and Experimental Allergy
- Vol. 39 (1), 127-137
- https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2222.2008.03120.x
Abstract
Having a food allergy may affect health-related quality of life (HRQL). Currently, no validated, self-administered, disease-specific HRQL questionnaire exists for children with food allergy. The aim of this study was to develop and validate the Food Allergy Quality of Life Questionnaire - Child Form (FAQLQ-CF) in the Dutch language. Interviews with food-allergic children (n=13, 8-12 years) generated 139 HRQL items. The most important items were identified by 51 food-allergic children using the clinical impact method. This resulted in the FAQLQ-CF containing 24 items (total score range 1 'not troubled' to 7 'extremely troubled'). The FAQLQ-CF, the Food Allergy Independent Measure (FAIM) and a generic HRQL questionnaire (CHQ-CF87) were sent to 115 food-allergic children for cross-sectional validation of the FAQLQ-CF. Construct validity was demonstrated by the correlation between the FAQLQ-CF and the FAIM (rho=0.60, P < 0.001). The FAQLQ-CF had an excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha=0.94) and discriminated between children who differed in number of food allergies (> 2 food allergies vs. <= 2 food allergies; total FAQLQ-CF score, 4.3 vs. 3.6; P=0.036), but did not discriminate between reported anaphylaxis or not. The total FAQLQ-CF score correlated with 8 of the 11 CHQ-CF87 sub-scales which demonstrated convergent/discriminant validity. The FAQLQ-CF is the first self-administered disease-specific HRQL questionnaire for food-allergic children. This questionnaire has a strong internal consistency and cross-sectional validity. It discriminates between children who differ in number of food allergies, and it was short and easy to use in the population studied. Therefore, the FAQLQ-CF may be a useful tool in clinical research.Keywords
This publication has 30 references indexed in Scilit:
- A framework for measuring the social impact of food allergy across Europe: a EuroPrevall state of the art paperAllergy, 2007
- Incorporating a gender dimension in food allergy research: a reviewAllergy, 2006
- Significance and rationale of studies of health-related quality of life in anaphylactic disordersCurrent Opinion in Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 2006
- Food allergen labeling in the USA and EuropeCurrent Opinion in Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 2006
- Development of a preliminary questionnaire to assess parental response to children's food allergiesAnnals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, 2006
- The impact of food allergy on the daily activities of children and their familiesAnnals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, 2006
- The impact of childhood food allergy on quality of lifeAnnals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, 2001
- Developing and evaluating cross-cultural instruments from minimum requirements to optimal modelsQuality of Life Research, 1993
- Measurement of health statusControlled Clinical Trials, 1989
- Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of testsPsychometrika, 1951