ASSESSMENT OF HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY-OF-LIFE IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS - AN INTEGRATIVE REVIEW

Reviewed and integrated the medical and psychological literature on th e assessment of health-related quality of life (QOL) in pediatric popu lations. Definitions of QOL and the utility, health status, battery, a nd modular approaches to QOL assessment are presented, Measures curren tly available for use with children and adolescents were evaluated wit h respect to psychometric properties, QOL domains included, targeted a ge range, mode of administration, number of items, and time period ass essed. The need to address methodological issues and practical barrier s so as to encourage the inclusion of QOL outcomes in future clinical trials and other research is discussed.