Questionnaires assessing the use of complementary health approaches in pediatrics and their measurement properties: A systematic review

Mohammad R Alqudimat; Karine Toupin April; Amos Hundert; Lindsay Jibb; Charles Victor; Paul C Nathan; Jennifer Stinson

doi:10.1016/j.ctim.2020.102520

Questionnaires assessing the use of complementary health approaches in pediatrics and their measurement properties: A systematic review

Complement Ther Med. 2020 Sep:53:102520. doi: 10.1016/j.ctim.2020.102520. Epub 2020 Jul 26.

Authors

Mohammad R Alqudimat¹, Karine Toupin April², Amos Hundert³, Lindsay Jibb⁴, Charles Victor⁵, Paul C Nathan⁶, Jennifer Stinson⁴

Affiliations

¹ University of Toronto, Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, 155 College Street, Suite 130, Toronto, ON M5T 1P8, Canada; The Hospital for Sick Children, Child Health Evaluation Sciences, 555 University Avenue, Toronto, ON M5G 1X8, Canada. Electronic address: m.alqudimat@mail.utoronto.ca.
² Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, 401 Smyth Road Ottawa, ON K1H 8L1, Canada; University of Ottawa, Department of Pediatrics and School of Rehabilitation Sciences, 451 Smyth Road, Ottawa, ON K1H 8M5, Canada.
³ The Hospital for Sick Children, Child Health Evaluation Sciences, 555 University Avenue, Toronto, ON M5G 1X8, Canada.
⁴ University of Toronto, Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, 155 College Street, Suite 130, Toronto, ON M5T 1P8, Canada; The Hospital for Sick Children, Child Health Evaluation Sciences, 555 University Avenue, Toronto, ON M5G 1X8, Canada.
⁵ University of Toronto, Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, 2075 Bayview Ave, Toronto, ON M4N 3M5, Canada.
⁶ The Hospital for Sick Children, Division of Haematology/Oncology, 555 University Avenue, Toronto, ON M5G 1X8, Canada.

PMID: 33066855
DOI: 10.1016/j.ctim.2020.102520

Abstract

Objectives: To identify questionnaires assessing the use of complementary health approaches (CHA) in pediatrics, describe their content, and appraise the methodological quality of the studies and the measurement properties of the questionnaires.

Method: Major electronic databases were searched from 2011 to 2020. Studies which aimed to assess the use of CHA and studies which reported developing and validating CHA questionnaires in pediatrics were included. Two reviewers independently screened the studies, extracted the data, and rated the methodological quality of the studies and measurement properties of the questionnaires using the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) checklist. When consensus was not reached, a third reviewer was consulted.

Results: Thirty-eight studies were included. From these studies, 35 CHA questionnaires with a variety of different items were identified. Only two studies aimed to evaluate the measurement properties of two questionnaires. One questionnaire, available as a self- and proxy-report, was initially validated in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis, and the other, available as an interviewer-administered questionnaire, was validated in children with cancer. According to the COSMIN, the methodological quality of both studies was inadequate or doubtful, and both questionnaires was not thoroughly validated.

Conclusion: This systematic review showed a lack of a thoroughly validated CHA questionnaire in pediatrics. However, two questionnaires were found to hold promise. To address this gap, one of the existing questionnaires should be adapted and further validated.

Keywords: COSMIN; Complementary Health Approaches; Pediatrics; measurement properties; methodological quality; questionnaire.

Publication types

Systematic Review

MeSH terms

Chronic Disease / therapy*
Complementary Therapies / methods*
Humans
Pediatrics*
Surveys and Questionnaires / standards*