Development and Content Validity Testing of Patient-Reported Outcome Items for Children to Self-Assess Symptoms of the Common Cold

Abstract

This in-depth qualitative study has supported identification of relevant symptom concepts and the development and refinement of patient-reported outcome items to assess those concepts. The findings support the content validity of the items and suggest that they can be used with confidence in children aged 9 years and older. For children aged 6-8 years, it is recommended the items are administered with initial adult supervision to explain the more difficult concepts or through parent/interviewer administration.