Health-related quality of life and functional outcome measures for children with cerebral palsy

The aim of this study was to examine measures of health-related quality of life (HRQL) in children with cerebral palsy (CP) by comparing scores of a generic HRQL measure, the Child Health Questionnaire (CHQ); a disease-specific HRQL measure for children with CP, the Caregiver Questionnaire (CQ); and a pediatric functional measure, the Wee-Functional Independence Measure (WeeFIM). Participants included 30 caregivers of children with CP. The caregivers' children were a mean age of 8 years 6 months (17 females, 13 males). The ethnic origin of the children was 18 African-American, 8 white, 3 Hispanic, and 1 Middle Eastern. Significant correlations were found between the CQ and WeeFIM total and subscale scores (r=0.388 to 0.641). There was no correlation between the CHQ and CQ total summary scores, but significant correlations were found between the CHQ subscales related to parent time and family cohesion and the CQ total and subscale scores (r=0.386 to 0.481). The lack of correlation between the CHQ and WeeFIM indicates HRQL and function are different constructs that cannot be inferred from each other. The fair relationship found between the CQ and WeeFIM suggests that the constructs measured in these two assessments overlap. The lack of correlation between the total summary scores of the CHQ and CQ suggests the CQ may be a more specific measure of HRQL for this population that reflects the impact of the child's condition on the caregiver.