title: Validation of the quality of life in childhood epilepsy questionnaire in American epilepsy patients.
abstract: The aim of this study was to adapt the Australian Quality of Life in Childhood Epilepsy Questionnaire (QOLCE) and determine its psychometric properties in a North American population. Participants were North American families with children diagnosed with epilepsy. Parents were asked to complete the American QOLCE (USQOLCE) and the Child Health Questionnaire (CHQ). Seventy-one families completed the USQOLCE. The internal consistency reliability of the subscales was good. USQOLCE subscales correlated highly with theoretically similar subscales contained in the CHQ. Theoretically dissimilar subscales on the two instruments did not correlate as well. USQOLCE correlated significantly with a parental rating of seizure severity and an independent measure of degree of postoperative seizure control. This study demonstrated that the USQOLCE is suitable for a North American population with evidence of its reliability and validity including its sensitivity to seizure burden.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, NSW 2109, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sabaz
authors.forename: John A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Lawson
authors.forename: David R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Cairns
authors.forename: Michael S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Duchowny
authors.forename: Trevor J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Resnick
authors.forename: Patricia M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Dean
authors.forename: Ann M E
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Bye
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000293:Adolescent; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003710:Demography; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients; D008297:Male; D010045:Outpatients; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012640:Seizures / Q000453:epidemiology; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D014481:United States