Measurement of quality of life in children

The quality of life concept (QoL) has positioned itself as a relevant outcome both in the clinical setting, and the economy of health. Many instruments are available to measure it based on different theories. In an effort to respond to these different approaches, the concept of Patient Reported Outcomes (PRO) was introduced meaning that information is provided by patients and that they complete the instrument. The aim is to classify the available instruments according to conceptual models to facilitate proper selection and better implementation. In the field of pediatrics several instruments have been designed, either generic or aimed at children with certain chronic health problems. This article presents the PRO concept, enumerates instruments for measuring health-related QoL in children, discusses positive and negative aspects of instruments for indirect informants and describes some present applications of these instruments in the clinical setting. In Latin America, the development of instruments for measuring HRQoL in children is limited, and in Colombia the incursion in this area recent. Further development is required to find out if we can compare with other populations, or should build new tools to evaluate QoL of children from our own perspective.