Tools used for evaluation of Brazilian children's quality of life

OBJECTIVE: To review the available tools to evaluate children's quality of life validated for Brazilian language and culture. DATA SOURCES: Search of scientific articles in Medline, Lilacs and SciELO databases using the combination of descriptors "quality of life", "child" and "questionnaires" in Portuguese and English. DATA SYNTHESIS: Among the tools designed to assess children's quality of life validated for the Brazilian language and culture, the Auto questionnaire Qualité de Vie Enfant Imagé (AUQEI), the Child Health Questionnaire - Parent Form 50 (CHQ-PF50), the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL((tm))) version 4.0 and the Kidscreen-52 are highlighted. Some tools do not include all range of ages and some lack domains that are currently considered relevant in the context of childhood, such as bullying. Moreover, due to the cultural diversity of Brazil, it may be necessary to adapt some instruments or to validate other tools. CONCLUSIONS: There are validated instruments to evaluate children's quality of life in Brazil. However, the validation or the adaptation of other international tools have to be considered in order to overcome current deficiencies.