ABSTRACT
This volume's purpose is to describe concepts and methods concerning assessment of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in children and adolescents with a special focus on chronic health conditions. The impetus for this book came from a recognition of the increasing importance of HRQOL assessments in the evaluation of treatment outcomes and the need to increase the utilization of HRQOL assessments in research and clinical applications with a range of pediatric populations. The need to develop a volume that describes new research and clinical applications concerning this topic stemmed from several recent developments. There is a continuing need for evaluations of the efficacy of medical treatments for children and adolescents, including those with chronic health conditions.
To address these critical unmet needs in the field of HRQOL assessment, and to advance scientific methods and clinical applications in this field, a conference was held at Case Western Reserve University. The conference set out to summarize current information concerning the development and implementation of measures of HRQOL assessment, to identify and consider key conceptual and methodological issues in research concerning the measurement of HRQOL, and to recommend priorities to advance the state-of-the-art in research and clinical applications of QOL assessment in children and adolescents with chronic health conditions. This volume summarizes and synthesizes the information that was presented by the conference participants in a series of lively discussions and chapters that were based on the presentations.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part I|60 pages
Historical Evolution and Conceptual Foundations of Pediatric Health-Related Quality of Life Assessment
part II|66 pages
Population-Based Applications of Measures of Health-Related Quality of Life with Children and Adolescents
part III|126 pages
Methods, Measures, and Applications of Health-Related Quality of Life Assessment in Children and Adolescents with Specific Chronic Health Conditions
part IV|74 pages
Methods, Measures, and Application of HRQOL Assessment in Children with Growth and Endocrine Problems
part V|23 pages
Summary of Recommendations for Clinical Research Applications of Assessments of Pediatric Health-Related Quality of Life