Translation and Cultural Adaptation of the Spanish Version of EQ-5D-Y Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents

Objective: To translate into Spanish and culturally adapt the international version of EQ5D-Y for measuring the health related quality of life in the child and adolescent population. Design: Translation and adaptation of a questionnaire. Setting: Spanish primary and secondary schools. Measures: Phases: a) transcultural adaptation of the international toot by means of direct translation to Spanish and back-translation to English, b) evaluation of the clarity, acceptability and familiarity of the first version of the questionnaire by means of cognitive interviews in 20 children and adolescents distributed by sex and age. Main results: The Spanish version of the EQ-5D-Y questionnaire was obtained. The interviewed participants indicated the questionnaire as "clear and understandable". The scores in perceived difficulty were less than 2 out of 10 in the 4 first dimensions of the questionnaire, showing a higher difficulty in the anxiety/depression dimension. Conclusions: The Spanish version of the presented EQ-5D-Y showed to be understandable and adapted to Spanish children and adolescents, and its ease of use makes this questionnaire potentially useful in different fields, such as primary care and paediatrics. (c) 2008 Elsevier Espana, S.L. All rights reserved.