title: Field-test validation of the brazilian version of the Paediatric Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN, USA. edgarsa01@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Edgar Enrique
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Sarria
authors.forename: Rosana Cardoso Manique
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Rosa
authors.forename: Gilberto Bueno
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Fischer
authors.forename: Vânia Naomi
authors.initials: VN
authors.lastname: Hirakata
authors.forename: Neusa Sica da
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Rocha
authors.forename: Rita
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mattiello
mesh_terms: 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*