Assessing the Validity and Reliability of the Effects of Youngsters’ Eyesight on Quality of Life Questionnaire Among Children With Uveitis

Abstract

Objective. The Effects of Youngsters' Eyesight on Quality of Life (EYE-Q) questionnaire measures vision-related functioning (VRF) and vision-related quality of life (VRQoL) in children with uveitis. Our aim was to revise the alpha version of the EYE-Q to refine VRF and VRQoL subscales and to assess the validity of the EYE-Q.Methods. Children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), JIA-associated uveitis, and other noninfectious uveitis were enrolled. Patients and parents completed the EYE-Q, Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (overall quality of life), and Childhood Health Assessment Questionnaire (physical functioning). The development site completed the alpha version of the EYE-Q, and the composite sites completed the beta version. We compared item-subscale correlations, internal consistency, and construct and discriminant validity among the different versions.Results. Of the 644 patients enrolled, 61.6% completed the alpha version, and 38.4% the beta version of the EYE-Q. Mean AE SD patient age was 11.1 AE 4.2 years, and 70% were female. Fewer White patients (73.5%) completed the alpha version compared to the beta version (86.2%; P < 0.001). With the exception of patient-reported VRF, both versions had similar item-subscale correlations. Version comparisons on scale internal consistencies indicated significant differences for parent-and patient-reported VRF, but each scale had a Cronbach's α of >0.80 beta. When data were combined, the EYE-Q showed significant differences between JIA-only and uveitis patients on all parent and patient scores, except for patient-reported VRF.Conclusion. The EYE-Q appears to be a valid measure of VRF and VRQoL in pediatric uveitis. Our results suggest it may be used as an outcome measure in multicenter pediatric uveitis studies.

Analysis of the clinical diagnosis and treatment of uveitis

“…Medical therapy is the cornerstone of the management of uveitis (6), because uncontrolled ocular inflammation can result in visually impactful ocular structural complications (7), and a significant risk of visual disability. Long-term treatment can have serious psychological, economic and quality-oflife consequences (8,9); if timely diagnosis and treatment are not instituted, serious complications lead to irreversible damage of visual function. Clinicians should actively try to find the cause of uveitis to administer effective treatment, and for idiopathic uveitis, the best treatment plan to control the degree of inflammation and prevent complications and irreversible ocular structural damage and visual impairment should be selected according to the severity of the disease.…”

Ophthalmic sequelae and psychosocial impact in pediatric ebola survivors

“…EYE-Q also captures the perceived difficulty in the performance of activities of daily living and the impact vision impairment has on tasks performed by children. 24 , 25 , 26 The parent report for the EYE-Q was comparable between parents and guardians of children with and without an ocular complication. Potential reasons for discrepancies between parent and children report include limited parental awareness of the impact of ocular conditions on activities, and underreporting of vision challenges by children, if the unaffected eye maintains functional vision.…”

“…This tool is scored on a scale of 0-100, with higher scores corresponding to better VRQOL or VRF. 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 …”

Development of a Nationally Agreed Core Clinical Dataset for Childhood Onset Uveitis

“…Quality of life metrics are particularly important in uveitis, with the burden conferred by the use of multiple systemic therapies. A recently validated tool for use in North American populations (the EYE-Q) has been shown to reliably, repeatably and responsively capture patient centered outcomes (quality of life) in childhood uveitis ( 40 , 41 ), but this tool has not yet been translated for a British setting or validated for use in British populations. Such work (validation of the translation) as well as the increasing routine capture of patient reported outcomes in clinical practice will lead to an update in the clinical dataset presented here.…”