This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Varni, J. W Articles by Newman, D. A Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Varni, J. W Articles by Newman, D. A Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Using factor analysis to confirm the validity of children's self-reported health-related quality of life across different modes of administration

Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA, Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, College of Architecture, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA, jvarni{at}archmail.tamu.edu

Christine A Limbers

Department of Psychology, College of Liberal Arts, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA

Daniel A Newman

Department of Psychology, 603 East Daniel St., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois, USA

Background The measurement of pediatric health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in pediatric medicine and health services research has grown significantly over the past decade. While HRQOL instruments are often administered in clinic settings, alternative modes of administration are also utilized such as mail and telephone surveys. In order for comparisons across in-person, mail, and telephone administration to be valid, items on a HRQOL measure must have equivalent meaning across mode of administration. That is, they must demonstrate factorial invariance (stable factor structure) across mode of administration.

Purpose The objective of the present study was to implement the multigroup confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) method for invariance testing across mode of administration for children's self-reported HRQOL.

Methods Multigroup CFA was performed specifying a five-factor model across three modes of administration groups (in-person, mail, and telephone survey). The 23-item PedsQL^TM 4.0 Generic Core Scales was utilized as the measure of children's self-reported HRQOL in a sample of 3741 children ages 5—18.

Results Strong factorial invariance across the mode of administration groups was demonstrated based on stability of the Comparative Fit Index (CFI) between the models, and several additional indices of practical fit including the Root Mean Squared Error of Approximation (RMSEA), the Non-Normed Fit Index (NNFI), and the Parsimony Normed Fit Index (PNFI).

Limitations The mode of administration subpopulations in our study differed with regard to health status.

Conclusion The multigroup CFA statistical methods utilized in the present study have important implications for clinical trials in which mixed modes of administration are used. The present findings support an equivalent five-factor structure of the PedsQL ^TM 4.0 Generic Core Scales across the three modes of administration studied. Based on these data, it can be concluded that children across the three modes of administration groups interpreted items on the PedsQL ^TM 4.0 Generic Core Scales in a similar manner. Clinical Trials 2009; 6: 185—195. http://ctj.sagepub.com

Clinical Trials, Vol. 6, No. 2, 185-195 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/1740774509102309


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?