title: Validation of a Cantonese version of the Children's Dermatology Life Quality Index.
abstract: My goal was to assess the validity and reliability of a Cantonese version of the Children's Dermatology Life Quality Index (CDLQI). To do so, I invited four translators to produce a proper Cantonese translation of the CDLQI. I asked five children to complete this version and made adjustments as necessary. I then requested 30 children with skin problems and 30 children consulting for problems unrelated to the skin in a primary care setting to complete the questionnaire before their consultation. A physician assessed the severity of the skin problem using a visual analog scale. Some children from both groups completed the questionnaire again 7 days later. The CDLQI scores are strongly (gammas = 0.850) and significantly (p < 0.01) correlated with physician-rated disease severity. The Cantonese CDLQI scores were similar to those of the English version for individual skin problems. Correlation of test-retest results is strong (gammas = 0.958, p < 0.01). Cronbach's alpha is 0.83. I concluded that the Cantonese CDLQI is a valid and reliable tool for assessing the effects of skin problems on quality of life in children.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Hong Kong and Queen Mary Hospital, Pokfulam, Hong Kong. achuh@iohk.com
authors.forename: Antonio A T
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Chuh
mesh_terms: D044466:Asian People; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006723:Hong Kong; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*