Field-test validation of the brazilian version of the Paediatric Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the psychometric properties of the official Brazilian Portuguese-language version of the Paediatric Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (PAQLQ) in a representative group of Brazilian children and adolescents with asthma.


METHODS
A total of 125 individuals with asthma, aged 8-17 years and being monitored at a pediatric pulmonology outpatient clinic in the city of Porto Alegre, Brazil, completed the PAQLQ. Validity was assessed by means of convergent validity (correlation between PAQLQ domains and those of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) 4.0. Reliability was assessed by determining internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha coefficient), reproducibility (intraclass correlation coefficient), sensitivity to change (effect size), and discriminatory power (floor/ceiling effects).


RESULTS
The mean age was 11 years, and 75 (60%) of the participants were male. The mean PAQLQ total score was 5.1, with floor/ceiling effects < 10%. Correlations between PAQLQ domains and the PedsQL 4.0 domains were acceptable (r = 0.37-0.40). The Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the total score was 0.93, ranging from 0.72 to 0.88 for the domains. The overall effect size was 0.60 (range: 0.45-0.60), whereas the overall intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.80 (range: 0.66-0.79).


CONCLUSIONS
The official Brazilian Portuguese-language version of the PAQLQ showed good psychometric performance, confirming its cultural adequacy for use in Brazil.
Sarria
Edgar Enrique
EE
Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN, USA. edgarsa01@hotmail.com
Rosa
Rosana Cardoso Manique
RC
Fischer
Gilberto Bueno
GB
Hirakata
Vânia Naomi
VN
Rocha
Neusa Sica da
NS
Mattiello
Rita
R
D000293:Adolescent; D001249:Asthma / Q000523:psychology*; D001938:Brazil; D002648:Child; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*