This book introduces the reader to the emerging field of quality of life assessment and provides a comprehensive overview of the conceptual and methodological issues concerning quality of life in child and adolescent illness.

How can we measure the quality of life in children and adolescents with chronic disease? Major progress in the diagnosis and treatment of severe and chronic disease has led to an increased number of children and their families having to adapt and cope with the impact of disease, survival, and the cost of treatment. Health professionals have responded to this by developing a diversity of instruments for measuring quality of life for use in paediatrics, psychology and public health. This book introduces the reader to the emerging field of quality of life assessment and provides a comprehensive overview of the conceptual and methodological issues concerning quality of life in child and adolescent illness. Particular emphasis is provided on current efforts to measure the impact of specific chronic conditions on different domains of child functioning. Future directions are outlined for the development of appropriate instruments for measuring quality of life in children and adolescents. Quality of Life in Child and Adolescent Illness is intended for psychologists, paediatricians, paediatric nurses, child psychiatrists, public health professionals, researchers and other interested readers from the undergraduate to the working professional.

How can we measure the quality of life in children and adolescents with chronic disease? Major progress in the diagnosis and treatment of severe and chronic disease has led to an increased number of children and their families having to adapt and cope with the impact of disease, survival, and the cost of treatment. Health professionals have responded to this by developing a diversity of instruments for measuring quality of life for use in paediatrics, psychology and public health. This book introduces the reader to the emerging field of quality of life assessment and provides a comprehensive overview of the conceptual and methodological issues concerning quality of life in child and adolescent illness. Particular emphasis is provided on current efforts to measure the impact of specific chronic conditions on different domains of child functioning. Future directions are outlined for the development of appropriate instruments for measuring quality of life in children and adolescents. Quality of Life in Child and Adolescent Illness is intended for psychologists, paediatricians, paediatric nurses, child psychiatrists, public health professionals, researchers and other interested readers from the undergraduate to the working professional.

Patient reported outcome measures are central to the evaluation of medical care and treatment regimes. Such measures depart from traditional clinical assessments as they are based on issues known to be of importance to patients. This book outlines the development and application of a variety of such measures in a wide range of neurological conditions. Introductory chapters outline issues in the application and validation of quality-of-life measures in neurology. Subsequent chapters survey the most widely used quality-of-life instruments in Parkinson's disease, motor neurone disease, multiple sclerosis, multiple system atrophy, progressive supranuclear palsy, and Alzheimer's/dementia. A chapter on cerebral palsy deals with the particular challenges to developing outcome measures for children. The book also addresses issues relating to the translation of measures for use in cross-cultural studies, handling missing data, carer experiences of long-term conditions, and methodological challenges. Essential reading for clinicians and researchers working in the field of neurology.

More children born today will survive to adulthood than at any time in history. It is now time to emphasize health and development in middle childhood and adolescence--developmental phases that are critical to health in adulthood and the next generation. Child and Adolescent Health and Development explores the benefits that accrue from sustained and targeted interventions across the first two decades of life. The volume outlines the investment case for effective, costed, and scalable interventions for low-resource settings, emphasizing the cross-sectoral role of education. This evidence base can guide policy makers in prioritizing actions to promote survival, health, cognition, and physical growth throughout childhood and adolescence.

Increasing public investments in health care services for low-income and special needs children and adolescents in the United States have raised questions about whether these efforts improve their health outcomes. Yet it is difficult to assess the general health status and health care quality for younger populations, especially those at risk of poor health outcomes, because the United States has no national information system that can provide timely, comprehensive, and reliable indicators in these areas for children and adolescents. Without such a system in place, it is difficult to know whether and how selected health care initiatives and programs contribute to children's health status. Child and Adolescent Health and Health Care Quality identifies key advances in the development of pediatric health and health care quality measures, examines the capacity of existing federal data sets to support these measures, and considers related research activities focused on the development of new measures to address current gaps. This book posits the need for a comprehensive strategy to make better use of existing data, to integrate different data sources, and to develop new data sources and collection methods for unique populations. Child and Adolescent Health and Health Care Quality looks closely at three areas: the nature, scope, and quality of existing data sources; gaps in measurement areas; and methodological areas that deserve attention. Child and Adolescent Health and Health Care Quality makes recommendations for improving and strengthening the timeliness, quality, public transparency, and accessibility of information on child health and health care quality. This book will be a vital resource for health officials at the local, state, and national levels, as well as private and public health care organizations and researchers.

This volume's purpose is to describe concepts and methods concerning assessment of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in children and adolescents with a special focus on chronic health conditions. The impetus for this book came from a recognition of the increasing importance of HRQOL assessments in the evaluation of treatment outcomes and the need to increase the utilization of HRQOL assessments in research and clinical applications with a range of pediatric populations. The need to develop a volume that describes new research and clinical applications concerning this topic stemmed from several recent developments. There is a continuing need for evaluations of the efficacy of medical treatments for children and adolescents, including those with chronic health conditions. To address these critical unmet needs in the field of HRQOL assessment, and to advance scientific methods and clinical applications in this field, a conference was held at Case Western Reserve University. The conference set out to summarize current information concerning the development and implementation of measures of HRQOL assessment, to identify and consider key conceptual and methodological issues in research concerning the measurement of HRQOL, and to recommend priorities to advance the state-of-the-art in research and clinical applications of QOL assessment in children and adolescents with chronic health conditions. This volume summarizes and synthesizes the information that was presented by the conference participants in a series of lively discussions and chapters that were based on the presentations.