Quality of Life in Short Stature Youth (eBook)

Assessment of health related quality of life in children and adolescents is moving forward. Measures to assess quality of life in young persons have been developed for both populations: studies covering all facets of health states and for clinical studies of children with acute or chronic health conditions. Some measures have been made available both nationally as well as internationally, the latter with an eye towards cross-cultural applicability. Recent reviews of the literature show that there is a wide range of generic measures which can be used in cross-cultural epidemiological and clinical studies in adults, but increasingly also in children (Payot & Barrington, 2011; Matza, Swensen, Flood, Secnik, & Leidy, 2004). With regard to condition specific measures, tools have been developed for highly prevalent paediatric conditions such as asthma and diabetes, but fewer have been developed for conditions related to impairments of the physical and mental development of children. One condition relating to the physical development of children is short-stature and its associated impairments, which can severely compromise the health related quality of life of children, their parents and families.