• Michael G Vitale, Jacqueline Corona, Hiroko Matsumoto, Javier Avendano, Dynell Pinder, Daniel J Miller, and David P Roye.
• Pediatric Orthopaedic Surgery, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, USA.
• Stud Health Technol Inform. 2010 Jan 1;158:172-6.

IntroductionTreatment of children with early onset scoliosis (EOS) seeks to improve natural history and health related quality of life (QOL). QOL measurement presents a significant challenge given the young age, comorbidities, and heterogeneity of this population.ObjectiveTo develop a disease specific measure reflecting issues of importance to EOS patients and caretakers.Materials And MethodsReview of the literature and relevant measures informed development of semi-structured qualitative interviews. Interviews of caregivers of EOS patients were interpreted through the framework technique. A master-list of 75-items was created and responses were scaled on a 5-point Likert-scale. Psychometric analysis was performed to group items into domains, to maintain score distribution, to create a responsive instrument, and to identify question redundancy.ResultsContent validation revealed 8-items with low content validity indices. Item distribution analysis demonstrated 19-items with skewed distribution. Item reliability demonstrated redundant items within domains (r> or =0.5). Construct validity demonstrated unique domains measuring intended issues of interest. The resulting Early Onset Scoliosis Questionnaire (EOSQ) includes 33-items in 13-domains: General Health, Pain, Physical Function, Pulmonary Function, Daily Living, Fatigue, Emotion, Surgical Concerns, Satisfaction, Transfer, Financial Burden, Parental Burden, and Treatment Outcomes.ConclusionThe EOSQ reflects QOL and caregiver burden in the EOS population. The EOSQ will expand options for outcome assessment in this unique population.

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