QoL-C (Quality of Life Scale for Children)

Generic-Specific Modules

Measure domains: Moving; looking after myself; doing usual activities; having pain; feeling worried, sad, or unhappy; global health, VAS (Visual Analog Scale)

Summary of development: This measure is based on the EQ5D. The measure uses a single item for five domains and uses simplified language, such as “moving around” instead of “mobility.” Relevant pictures of children are used alongside each question and written examples to help comprehension. QoL-C uses three faces (happy, neutral, and sad) as response options providing a visual anchor to the options “no problems”, “some problems”, and “a lot of problems.  The five questions come together to produce a total QoL score of five to 15, with lower scores implying better QoL. The QoL-C uses a health meter, which asks children to rate their general health from zero to ten, with emoticons presented alongside to indicate “worst” health (sad emoticon), “ok” health (neutral emoticon), and “best” health (happy emoticon) (Thompson, 2014).

Thompson HL, Reville M-C, Price A, Reynolds L, Rodgers L, Ford T. The quality-of-life scale for children (QOLC). J Child Serv. 2014;9(1):4–17. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1108/JCS- 05- 2013- 0019.

Additional information

Number of Items

5

Time Frame/Recall Period

General/Not stated

Measurement Type

Classical Test Theory

Overall Score

Yes

Sub scores/Subscales

Moving; looking after myself; doing usual activities; having pain; feeling worried, sad or unhappy; global health, VAS

Ages

4-9

Respondent

Age 4-7: by interviewer, age 8–9: by self in class, Informant: by self; mail

Languages

English

Development Used Experts

Thompson 2014

Development Used Patient

Thompson 2014

Convergent Validity with Other Measures

Thompson 2014