| dc.description.abstract | BACKGROUND: Because there are no child-friendly, validated, self-report measures of
dyspnea or breathlessness, we developed, and provided initial validation, of three,
7-item, pictorial scales depicting three sub-constructs of dyspnea: throat closing,
chest tightness, and effort. METHODS: We developed the three scales (Throat closing,
Chest tightness, and Effort) using focus groups with 25 children. Subsequently,
seventy-nine children (29 children with asthma, 30 children with cystic fibrosis. and 20
children who were healthy) aged 6 to 18 years rated each picture in each series, using a
0-10 scale. In addition, each child placed each picture in each series on a 100-cm long
Visual Analogue Scale, with the anchors "not at all" and "a
lot". RESULTS: Children aged eight years or older rated the scales in the
correct order 75% to 98% correctly, but children less than 8 years of age performed
unreliably. The mean distance between each consecutive item in each pictorial scale was
equal. CONCLUSION: Preliminary results revealed that children aged 8 to 18 years
understood and used these three scales measuring throat closing, chest tightness, and
effort appropriately. The scales appear to accurately measure the construct of
breathlessness, at least at an interval level. Additional research applying these scales
to clinical situations is warranted. | en_US |
