How well does the Canadian Haemophilia Outcomes-Kids' Life Assessment Tool (CHO-KLAT) measure the quality of life of boys with haemophilia?
BACKGROUND
It is important to measure the quality of life (QoL) of boys with haemophilia, because the diagnosis has a significant impact on their lives and this impact fluctuates over time. A disease-specific measure of QoL is required because the aspects of life that are affected by haemophilia may differ from those assessed by generic QoL measures. This paper describes the final phase of development of a disease-specific measure of QoL for boys with haemophilia: the Canadian Haemophilia Outcomes-Kids Life Assessment Tool (CHO-KLAT).


METHODS
A 79-item version of the CHO-KLAT was administered to 52 children. A detailed item analysis was conducted to shorten the CHO-KLAT. The reliability of the revised version was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients. Validity was assessed by comparing it to the PedsQL and the HaemoQoL.


RESULTS
The item analysis resulted in the retention of 35 strongly performing items (CHO-KLAT(35)). These items were aggregated into the CHO-KLAT(35) summary score. Repeated measures reliability of the CHO-KLAT(35) was 0.74 for children and 0.83 for parents, and the child-parent concordance was 0.75. The validity of the CHO-KLAT(35) was confirmed by a correlation of 0.78 with the Haemo-QoL and of 0.59 with the PedsQL.


CONCLUSIONS
The CHO-KLAT(35) is a reliable and valid measure of QoL for boys with haemophilia.
Young
Nancy L
NL
The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. nancy.young@sickkids.ca
Bradley
Catharine S
CS
Wakefield
Cindy D
CD
Barnard
Dorothy
D
Blanchette
Victor S
VS
McCusker
Patricia J
PJ
D000293:Adolescent; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D019072:Antibiotic Prophylaxis; D002170:Canada; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006304:Health Status; D006467:Hemophilia A / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology*; D002836:Hemophilia B / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011788:Quality of Life; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents