Canadian Acute Respiratory Illness and Flu Scale (CARIFS): Development of a valid measure for childhood respiratory infections

Although acute respiratory infection (ARI) is the most frequent clinical sy ndrome in childhood, there is no validated measure of its severity. Therefo re a parental questionnaire was developed: the Canadian Acute Respiratory I llness Flu Scale (CARIFS). A process of item generation, item reduction, an d scale construction resulted in a scale composed of 18 items covering thre e domains; symptoms (e.g., cough); function (e.g., play), and parental impa ct (e.g., clinginess). The validity of the scale was evaluated in a study o f 220 children with ARI. Construct validity was assessed by comparing the C ARIFS score with physician, nurse, and parental assessment of the child's h ealth. Data were available from 206 children (94%). The CARIFS correlated w ell with measures of the construct (Spearman's correlations between 0.36 an d 0.52). Responsiveness was shown, with 90% of children having a CARIFS sco re less than a quarter of its initial value, by the tenth day. (C) 2000 Els evier Science Inc. All rights reserved.