Preference-based measure of social participation from the Handicap Scale for Children.
OBJECTIVE
To establish a model that estimates a preference-based measure (valuation) of social participation for children between 8 and 18 years of age from the Handicap Scale for Children (HSC), a validated questionnaire for children with a chronic illness.


METHODS
Vignettes of the HSC classification system were valued by a representative sample of 249 persons aged 18 years onwards. Linear and nominal scale (mixed-effects) models were used to analyze the valuations of the vignettes.


RESULTS
We established a model that performed better than a model that simply sums up the levels of each dimension.


CONCLUSIONS
We obtained a measure that can be used for assessing need, for quality assurance and for evaluating interventions on a group level aiming to increase social participation in children with chronic illnesses.
TNO Quality of Life, Prevention and Care, PO Box 2215, 2301 CE, Leiden, The Netherlands. paula.vandommelen@tno.nl.
Paula
P
van Dommelen
Annemarie
A
Schuller
Symone
S
Detmar
Bernard
B
van den Berg
Karin
K
Groothuis-Oudshoorn