title: Implementation of the Kids-CAT in clinical settings: a newly developed computer-adaptive test to facilitate the assessment of patient-reported outcomes of children and adolescents in clinical practice in Germany.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the implementation process of a computer-adaptive test (CAT) for measuring health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of children and adolescents in two pediatric clinics in Germany. The study focuses on the feasibility and user experience with the Kids-CAT, particularly the patients' experience with the tool and the pediatricians' experience with the Kids-CAT Report.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Kids-CAT was completed by 312 children and adolescents with asthma, diabetes or rheumatoid arthritis. The test was applied during four clinical visits over a 1-year period. A feedback report with the test results was made available to the pediatricians. To assess both feasibility and acceptability, a multimethod research design was used. To assess the patients' experience with the tool, the children and adolescents completed a questionnaire. To assess the clinicians' experience, two focus groups were conducted with eight pediatricians.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The children and adolescents indicated that the Kids-CAT was easy to complete. All pediatricians reported that the Kids-CAT was straightforward and easy to understand and integrate into clinical practice; they also expressed that routine implementation of the tool would be desirable and that the report was a valuable source of information, facilitating the assessment of self-reported HRQoL of their patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The Kids-CAT was considered an efficient and valuable tool for assessing HRQoL in children and adolescents. The Kids-CAT Report promises to be a useful adjunct to standard clinical care with the potential to improve patient-physician communication, enabling pediatricians to evaluate and monitor their young patients' self-reported HRQoL.
authors.affiliation: Research Unit Child Public Health, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistr. 52, 20246, Hamburg, Germany. d.barthel@uke.de.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Barthel
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, Center of Internal Medicine and Dermatology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: K I
authors.initials: KI
authors.lastname: Fischer
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, Center of Internal Medicine and Dermatology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Germany.|Public Health Innovation, Population Health Strategic Research Centre, School of Health and Social Development, Deakin University, Burwood, VIC, 3125, Australia.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nolte
authors.affiliation: Research Unit Child Public Health, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistr. 52, 20246, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Otto
authors.affiliation: Research Unit Child Public Health, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistr. 52, 20246, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: A-K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Meyrose
authors.affiliation: Research Unit Child Public Health, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistr. 52, 20246, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Reisinger
authors.affiliation: Research Unit Child Public Health, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistr. 52, 20246, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dabs
authors.affiliation: Hospital for Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23538, Lübeck, Germany.
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Thyen
authors.affiliation: Department of General Pediatrics, University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, Arnold-Heller-Straße 3, House 9, 24105, Kiel, Germany.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Klein
authors.affiliation: Department Health and Prevention, Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University, Robert-Blum-Str. 13, 17487, Greifswald, Germany.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Muehlan
authors.affiliation: Department of General Pediatrics, University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, Arnold-Heller-Straße 3, House 9, 24105, Kiel, Germany.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ankermann
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, Center of Internal Medicine and Dermatology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Walter
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, Center of Internal Medicine and Dermatology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Germany.|Department of Quantitative Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 368 Plantation Street, Worcester, MA, 01605, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rose
authors.affiliation: Research Unit Child Public Health, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistr. 52, 20246, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Ravens-Sieberer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002648:Child; D003201:Computers; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D005858:Germany; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008491:Medical Informatics Applications; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D063868:Patient Outcome Assessment; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D057566:Self Report; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Clinical practice; Computer-adaptive test; Electronic patient-reported outcomes; Pediatrics; Quality of life; User acceptance