Abstract
Objective:
Definition and the measurement of the concept of quality of life is a difficult issue and it is briefly defined as the self-perception of a person's well being in his own culture and values system. During the last two decades studies about health related quality of life (HRQOL) in pediatric population have increased in number. This review aimed to give an overview about the concept of quality of life and HRQOL inventories developed for children and adolescents.
Method:
The Medline and Turkish Medicine Index was searched by using "quality of life", "children", "inventories" and "questionnaires" as the key words and papers that can be reached as full text were taken into consideration.
Results:
The use of health related quality of life questionnaires in medicine helps proffesionals to better understand how the illness and therapies affect a patient's life and how to improve the patient -physician relationship. Identification of problems in children's and adolescents' quality of life may provide a decline in the potential problems about the quality of life during adulthood.
Discussion:
Although studies about HRQOL in pediatric population increased in number during the last two decades, studies about HRQOL in children younger than 8 years old age are very few. Only one inventory -questionnaire in Turkish language exists to measure quality of life in children and adolescents. Also validity and reliability studies of HRQOL questionnaires in Turkish children and adolescents are very few. Fortunately, inventories which their validity and reliability had been studied in Turkish population are the widely used ones all over the world. Studies investigating the validity and reliability of quality of life inventories conducted in larger sample of Turkish population are needed.
Keywords: Quality of life, children, inventories, questionnaire
