Assessment of health-related quality of life in children and adolescents: an integrative review.

Reviewed and integrated the medical and psychological literature on the assessment of health-related quality of life (QOL) in pediatric populations. Definitions of QOL and the utility, health status, battery, and modular approaches to QOL assessment are presented. Measures currently available for use with children and adolescents were evaluated with respect to psychometric properties, QOL domains included, targeted age range, mode of administration, number of items, and time period assessed. The need to address methodological issues and practical barriers so as to encourage the inclusion of QOL outcomes in future clinical trials and other research is discussed.