The longitudinal validity, reproducibility and responsiveness of the Brisbane Burn Scar Impact Profile (caregiver report for young children version) for measuring health-related quality of life in children with burn scars

Abstract

Background: The measurement of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) provides information about the perceived burden of the health condition and treatments from a lived experience. The Brisbane Burn Scar Impact Profile (caregiver report for young children, BBSIP0–8), developed in 2013, is a proxy-report measure of burn scar-specific HRQoL. The aim of this study was to report its psychometric properties in line with an evaluative purpose. Methods: Caregivers of children up to 8 years of age at risk of burn scarring were recruited into a prospective, longitudinal cohort study. Caregivers completed the BBSIP0–8, Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory and Patient Observer Scar Assessment Scale at baseline (approximately ≥85% of the total body surface area re-epithelialised), 1–2 weeks after baseline and 1-month after baseline. Psychometric properties measured included internal consistency, test–retest reliability, validity and responsiveness. Results: Eighty-six caregivers of mostly male children (55%), of a median age (IQR) of 1 year, 10 months (2 years, 1 month) and total body surface area burn of 1.5% (3.0%) were recruited. Over one third of participants were grafted and 15% had contractures or skin tightness at baseline. Internal consistency of ten item groups ranged from 0.73 to 0.96. Hypothesised correlations of changes in the BBSIP0–8 items with changes in criterion measures supported longitudinal validity (ρ ranging from −0.73 to 0.68). The majority of item groups had acceptable reproducibility (ICC = 0.65–0.83). The responsiveness of five item groups was supported (AUC = 0.71–0.90). Conclusion: The psychometric properties tested support the use of the BBSIP0–8 as an evaluative measure of burn scar-related health-related quality of life for children aged below eight years in the early post-acute period of rehabilitation. Further investigation at longer time period after burn injury is indicated.L20020238262019-05-31 <br />2019-12-13 <br />