Development of the Korean Version of the Children's Palliative Care Outcome Scale

Although there is a need to evaluate the outcomes of children's palliative care, there is no scale that reflects children and families' perspectives in South Korea.

This study aimed to develop the Korean version of the Children's Palliative Care Outcome Scale (C-POS-K).

The translation and cross-cultural adaptation were performed through six phases: 1) conceptual definition clarification; 2) forward translation; 3) blind backward translation; 4) expert review by a panel of the C-POS team; 5) cognitive interviews with 21 children with cancer and 14 parents who experienced pediatric palliative care; 6) and proofreading of the final tool with the original C-POS team in the UK.

The findings of this study confirmed that the items in the original C-POS:UK fully measure the symptoms and concerns in pediatric palliative care in Korea. While most items were culturally and linguistically adapted without substantial difficulty, several terminologies posed particular challenges. After discussions of the translation team and the expert panel, culturally appropriate terms were developed and included. Although participants in cognitive interviews suggested providing examples to items, adding content beyond the original items was avoided to prevent narrowing the scope of respondents' interpretations and to maintain international comparability. The appropriateness of the translation and cultural adaptation was confirmed throughout the process.

The C-POS-K preserved the original instrument's key strengths, including developmentally appropriate formats, applicability to parents, and utility for both needs assessment and quality improvement, without substantive changes in meaning. A psychometric evaluation will follow to establish validity.