Development of a Quality-of-Life Index for Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Dealing with Differences Related to Age and IBD Type

Abstract

In selection of items to be retained in a pediatric IBD quality-of-life measure, the variation in concerns with disease type must be considered. A single index to assess IBD-related quality of life must include items of major importance to one subgroup of patients, even if not important to all. Alternately, a core of common concerns could be supplemented by disease-specific modules, thereby increasing the content validity of the tool for all patients.