Establishing measurement invariance: English and Spanish Paediatric Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire.

Background: Registered nurses and nurse researchers often use questionnaires to measure patient outcomes. When questionnaires or other multiple-item instruments have been developed using a relatively homogeneous sample, the suitability of even a psychometrically well-developed instrument for the new population comes into question. Bias or lack of equivalence can be introduced into instruments through differences in perceptions of the meaning of the measured items, constructs, or both in the two groups.

Confirmation of the validity of the HAQ-DI in two populations living with chronic illnesses.

The assessment of functional health in chronic illnesses such as HIV/AIDS and rheumatoid arthritis is central to the measurement of health-related quality of life. The purpose of this article is to report the testing and comparison of the measurement structure of the Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index (HAQ-DI), a measure of functional health, in 917 persons living with HIV/AIDS and 901 individuals with rheumatoid arthritis. The samples come from data collected as part of the Arthritis, Rheumatism, and Aging Medical Information System (ARAMIS) and AIDS Time-Oriented Health Outcome Study (ATHOS) projects.

Development of a model to measure symptom status in persons living with rheumatoid arthritis.

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic illness with a constellation of symptoms. The management of which is important for quality of life. Our review of the literature indicated that there is currently no standardized approach to measuring the symptom status of persons living with RA.