Objectives: To examine the content validity of the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System pediatric measures, including the pain interference scale, among children and adolescents (aged 8-18 years) who experience chronic pain. To describe children's understandings of the health domain constructs and elucidate verbal and conceptual aspects of self-reported pain-related functioning, which shape disclosure and reporting.
Methods: 34 children and youth with diagnoses of juvenile idiopathic arthritis or noninflammatory chronic pain completed semistructured and cognitive interviews exploring the meaning, experience, and expression of up to 4 of the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System pediatric domains: anger, anxiety, depressive symptoms, fatigue, pain interference, and peer relationships. Team-based thematic and content analyses were conducted.
Results: Clear verbal and social-cognitive differences were observed in representations and accounts of the domain-experiences across age-groups, but we noted little, if any, evidence of problems with content validity.
Conclusions: Findings suggest the importance of a rigorous developmental approach for understanding the verbal and cognitive dimensions of pediatric self-reports and patient-reported outcomes.