Validity of Three Measures of Quality of Life in Children with Severe Epilepsy
Abstract number :
2.189
Submission category :
Year :
2001
Submission ID :
416
Source :
www.aesnet.org
Presentation date :
12/1/2001 12:00:00 AM
Published date :
Dec 1, 2001, 06:00 AM
Authors :
E.M.S. Sherman, PhD, Psychology, BC[ssquote]s Children[ssquote]s Hospital, Vancouver, BC, Canada; M.B. Connolly, MB, Neurology, BC[ssquote]s Children[ssquote]s Hospital, Vancouver, BC, Canada; C. Camfield, MD, Pediatrics, IWK Health Centre, Halifax, NS, C
RATIONALE: There are few measures specifically designed to assess quality of life (QOL) in children with epilepsy. In addition, information on the validity of existing measures is scant. We therefore assessed the validity of three published measures of QOL in pediatric epilepsy. These were: (1) the Hague Restrictions in Epilepsy Scale (HARCES), (2) the Impact of Childhood Illness Scale (ICI), and (3) the Impact of Pediatric Epilepsy Scale (IPES).
METHODS: The scales were completed by parents of 63 children (age range = 4 to 17 years). All children were seen for treatment of refractory epilepsy at a tertiary care hospital. Validity was assessed by comparing the scales to (1) neurological indices of intractability consisting of seizure frequency and number of current and past antiepileptic medications (AEDs) as well as (2) psychological measures of adaptive functioning, behavior problems and intelligence (Scales of Independent Behavior [ndash] Revised, Child Behavior Checklist, Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children [ndash] III Full-Scale IQ).
RESULTS: The three QOL measures were highly intercorrelated (i.e., r ranging from .65 to .88, p [lt] .0001), suggesting that they measure a common dimension of QOL. However, the scales differed in terms of their associations with neurological and psychological variables. Correlational and regression analyses using neurological and psychological variables as predictors showed that the best predictor of ICI and IPES scores were measures of behavior problems and intellectual level, with lower IQ and higher behavioral problems associated with worse QOL. The ICI differed somewhat from the IPES in that it was also moderately related to number of current AEDs. In contrast to the other two measures of QOL, the HARCES appeared to be most strongly related to neurological variables of intractability, particularly number of current AEDs and seizure frequency.
CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that the three scales measure a similar dimension of QOL. However, because each also reflects specific neurological and psychological aspects of pediatric epilepsy, they are clearly not interchangeable. Overall, the unique aspects of these measures suggest the need for cautious and specific selection of tools for measuring QOL in clinical practice and research.
Support: BC[ssquote]s Children[ssquote]s Hospital Foundation New Research Fund