Department of Epidemiology and Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
PLoS One. 2012;7(6):e39611. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0039611. Epub 2012 Jun 29.
Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is commonly used by children, but estimates of that use vary widely partly due to the range of questionnaires used to assess CAM use. However, no studies have attempted to appraise measurement properties of these questionnaires. The aim of this systematic review was to critically appraise and summarize measurement properties of questionnaires of CAM use in pediatrics.
A search strategy was implemented in major electronic databases in March 2011 and conference websites, scientific journals and experts were consulted. Studies were included if they mentioned a questionnaire assessing the prevalence of CAM use in pediatrics. Members of the team independently rated the methodological quality of the studies (using the COSMIN checklist) and measurement properties of the questionnaires (using the Terwee and Cohen criteria).
A total of 96 CAM questionnaires were found in 104 publications. The COSMIN checklist showed that no studies reported adequate methodological quality. The Terwee criteria showed that all included CAM questionnaires had indeterminate measurement properties. According to the Cohen score, none were considered to be a well-established assessment, two approached the level of a well-established assessment, seven were promising assessments and the remainder (n = 87) did not reach the score's minimum standards.
None of the identified CAM questionnaires have been thoroughly validated. This systematic review highlights the need for proper validation of CAM questionnaires in pediatrics, which may in turn lead to improved research and knowledge translation about CAM in clinical practice.
补充和替代医学（CAM）在儿童中广泛使用，但由于用于评估 CAM 使用的问卷范围广泛，其使用情况的估计差异很大。然而，尚未有研究尝试评估这些问卷的测量特性。本系统评价的目的是批判性地评估和总结儿科 CAM 使用问卷的测量特性。
2011 年 3 月，我们在主要电子数据库中实施了搜索策略，并咨询了会议网站、科学期刊和专家。如果研究提到了评估儿科 CAM 使用情况的问卷，则将其纳入研究。团队成员独立评估研究的方法学质量（使用 COSMIN 清单）和问卷的测量特性（使用 Terwee 和 Cohen 标准）。
在 104 篇出版物中发现了 96 种 CAM 问卷。COSMIN 清单显示，没有研究报告了足够的方法学质量。Terwee 标准表明，所有纳入的 CAM 问卷的测量特性都不确定。根据 Cohen 评分，没有一个被认为是经过充分验证的评估方法，有两个接近充分验证的评估方法，有七个是有前途的评估方法，其余（n=87）未达到评分的最低标准。
已确定的 CAM 问卷中没有一个经过彻底验证。本系统评价强调了在儿科领域对 CAM 问卷进行适当验证的必要性，这反过来又可能促进 CAM 在临床实践中的研究和知识转化。
