Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Validation of the EuroQoL Toddler and Infant Populations Instrument Into Afrikaans for South Africa.

The EuroQol Group is exploring the development of a health-related quality of life measure for toddlers and infant populations (EuroQoL Toddler and Infant Populations [EQ-TIPS]) aged 0 to 36 months. This study aimed to report on the cross-cultural adaptation and validity of the South African Afrikaans EQ-TIPS. The development of the Afrikaans EQ-TIPS followed the EuroQol guidelines including forward-backward translation and cognitive interviews with 10 caregivers of children aged 0 to 36 months. Thereafter, 162 caregivers of children 0 to 36 months of age were recruited from a pediatric hospital inpatient and outpatient facility. The EQ-TIPS; Ages and Stages Questionnaire; face, legs, activity, cry, and consolability; and dietary information were completed by all caregivers. The distribution of dimension scores, Spearman's correlation, analysis of variance, and regression analysis were used to explore the validity of the EQ-TIPS. The descriptive system of the EQ-TIPS was generally well understood and accepted by caregivers. The correlation coefficients for concurrent validity were significant and moderate for pain and weak and significant for the other dimensions hypothesized to correlate. Known groups were compared and inpatients had a significantly higher report of pain (χ² = 7.47, P =.024) and more problems reported across all EQ-TIPS dimensions (recorded on the level sum score) (Kruskal Wallis H = 3.809, P =.05) and reported significantly worse health on the visual analog scale (Kruskal Wallis H = 15.387, P <.001). There were no age-related differences except for a lower report of problems with movement in the 0- to 12-month group (χ² = 10.57, P =.032). The Afrikaans version of the EQ-TIPS is well understood and accepted by caregivers and valid for use with children aged 0 to 36 months in South Africa. • Measuring and valuing health-related quality of life in children younger than 5 years have gained interest in recent years resulting in the development of a number of new measures including the EuroQoL Toddler and Infant Populations (EQ-TIPS) for children 0 to 36 months. • These results suggest that the Afrikaans version of the EQ-TIPS is a valid measure for toddlers and infants with a health condition in the South African context. • Further research is needed on the EQ-TIPS to establish the acceptability and psychometric properties from a global context and within diverse disease groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]