Parent-child agreement across child health-related quality of life instruments: A review of the literature

Aim: To systematically review the literature published since 1999 on paediatric health-related quality of life (HRQL) in relation to parent-child agreement. Methods: Literature searches used to identify studies which evaluated parent-child agreement for child HRQL measures. Results: Nineteen studies were identified, including four HRQL instruments. The Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory™ (PedsQL™) was most commonly used. Differences in parent-child agreement were noted between domains for different measures. The impact of child and parent characteristics were not consistently considered; however parents of children in a nonclinical sample tended to report higher child HRQL scores than children themselves, while parents of children with health conditions tended to underestimate child HRQL. Conclusion: Despite increasing numbers of studies considering children's HRQL, information about variables contributing to parent-child agreement levels remains limited. Authors need to consistently provide evidence for reliability and validity of measures, and design studies to systematically investigate variables that impact on levels of parent-child agreement.