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Development and validation of a parent-proxy bronchiectasis child quality-of-life instrument: the BC-QoL

Jack M Roberts1,2, Peter A Newcombe3, Vikas Goyal1,4

  • 1Australian Centre for Health Services Innovation, Centre for Healthcare Transformation, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia.

ERJ Open Research
|July 14, 2026
PubMed

Insights

A new 23-item tool, the Bronchiectasis Child-Specific Parent-Proxy Quality of Life (BC-QoL) instrument, has been developed and validated. This reliable and valid measure assesses the quality of life for children with bronchiectasis.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Pulmonology
  • Health Outcomes Research
  • Psychometrics

Background:

  • Quality of life (QoL) is a critical outcome for children with bronchiectasis and their families.
  • Existing instruments do not specifically measure QoL related to pediatric bronchiectasis.
  • There is a need for a validated, child-specific, parent-proxy QoL measure for this population.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop and validate a new parent-proxy instrument to measure QoL in children with bronchiectasis (BC-QoL).
  • To establish the reliability, validity, and responsiveness of the developed BC-QoL instrument.

Main Methods:

  • A prospective cohort study involving 142 parents who completed the draft 44-item BC-QoL and other validated measures.
  • Psychometric and clinical impact analyses were used to refine the instrument and assess its properties.
  • Data were collected over 3 weeks during different illness phases (stable, exacerbation, recovery).

Main Results:

  • The final 23-item BC-QoL demonstrated high reliability (Cronbach's alpha=0.97, split-half=0.95) and repeatability (ICC=0.74).
  • The instrument showed good validity, with significant correlations to the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL™ 4.0).
  • The minimal important difference (MID) for BC-QoL ranged from 0.74 to 1.32.

Conclusions:

  • The BC-QoL is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing QoL in children with bronchiectasis.
  • The BC-QoL can be utilized to evaluate intervention impacts and understand the disease burden.
  • This tool supports improved clinical decision-making and research in pediatric bronchiectasis.
Abstract

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