Validity and reliability of the EQ-5D-3L™ among a paediatric injury population

BACKGROUND: Injuries are a leading cause of death and disabilities for children and youth globally. Measuring the health related quality of life of injured children and youth can help gain understanding of the impact of injuries on this population; however, psychometric evaluation of health related quality of life tools among this population is lacking. The purpose of this study was to determine the construct validity of the EQ-5D-3L™ for use among a population of injured young people and to examine the reliability of different modes of administration including paper and pencil, online and telephone. METHODS: In total, 345 participants (aged 0 – 16) were recruited from a paediatric hospital in a large urban centre in British Columbia, Canada. To capture a variety of injury types and severity, patients were recruited from in-patient units and the emergency department. Data were collected at the time of recruitment and at one month post injury. RESULTS: Repeated measures analysis (rANOVA) showed that EQ-5D-3L™ scores were different before and after injury and significant between group differences (Visual Analog Scale: F = 4.61, p = 0.011; Descriptive Scale: F = 29.58, p < 0.001), within group differences (Visual Analog Scale: F = 60.02, p < 0.001; Descriptive Scale: F = 92.37, p < 0.001), and interaction between variables (Visual Analog Scale: F = 10.89, p < 0.001; Descriptive Scale: F = 19.25, p < 0.001) were detected, indicating its suitability for assessment of post-injury health related quality of life. Bland-Altman plots confirmed that few differences existed between modes of administration. CONCLUSION: The EQ-5D-3L™ is an appropriate instrument for collecting health related quality of life data among injured children and can be administered via paper-pencil, online or by telephone.