title: A telephone interview version of the middle childhood HOME Observation Measurement of the Environment.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The Home Observation Measurement of the Environment (HOME) is a 59-item observation and interview tool used to measure how suitable a child's home is for a child of his or her developmental age and has been used extensively in research. The HOME is usually performed in the child's home, which has cost implications. We wished to develop a telephone version of the HOME.
  
  
  METHODS
  We developed a 54-item telephone interview version of the HOME and used it to measure the home environment in 77 children aged 6-10 years inclusive attending a child and adolescent mental health clinic, followed by a home visit and HOME assessment. The results of the telephone home assessment were then compared with the results of the original HOME.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Our sample had a mean HOME score of 47.6, standard deviation (SD) = 5.5 and a mean telephone home score of 42.6, SD = 5.1. No difference was found in comparison of the subscale mean scores of the HOME with the telephone home assessment. The agreement of 54 items in common between the HOME and telephone home assessment ranged from 73% agreement to 100% agreement. Forty-three of 50 items had moderate to almost perfect agreement using kappa analysis (kappa = 0.41-0.99); three had 100% agreement.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The telephone version of the HOME compares favourably with the HOME.
authors.affiliation: Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service, Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: W W
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.affiliation: Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service, Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: O'Mahony
authors.affiliation: Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service, Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.|Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, School of Medicine and Medical Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mulligan
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D013689:Telephone
keywords: environmental influences; measurement