Child participation in health care (ChiPaC)—Development and psychometric evaluation of a self‐report instrument for children's participation in health care

• Aims and objectives: To develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of a self‐report instrument measuring 6‐ to 12‐year‐old children's own experiences of participation in health care.Background: Validated measures to evaluate children's participation in health care can play a critical role in strategic work towards supporting children's participation at an individual level and in working towards quality improvements at an organisational level. There are, however, no available instruments to achieve this.Methods: An instrument development design was used, together with the TRIPOD checklist. Item construction was based on research about children's perspectives on participation in health care and Shier's model for participation. The face and content validity was evaluated by 14 healthy children, 9 paediatric nurses and 8 children with different diseases. The construct validity, internal consistency and stability reliability were evaluated based on data from 138 children visiting a paediatric clinic.Results: The testing of the face and content validity resulted in an instrument with child‐friendly language, additional instructions and visual attractive presentation. The principle component analysis resulted in the four‐factor solution: “To be included,” “To trust professionals,” “To take control,” and “To understand information.” Internal consistency and intraclass correlation coefficients were acceptable.Conclusion: We conclude that the child participation in health care (ChiPaC) instrument has adequate reliability and validity when used to evaluate children's participation in health care. The involvement of children in the development of ChiPaC resulted in a brief, colourful and user‐friendly instrument for use in paediatric health care.Relevance to clinical practice: This new questionnaire, ChiPaC, is adapted for children between 6–12 years measuring participation in health care from a child perspective. ChiPaC can be used in the practical work of supporting individual children's participation in health care as well as in the strategical work towards quality improvements on an organisational level.What does this paper contribute to the wider global clinical community?The instrument provides a contribution for the practical implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in health care.The high degree of involvement of children in the development of the instrument resulted in a brief, colourful and user‐friendly instrument that can be used in paediatric health care.The instrument can play a critical role in the practical work of supporting individual children's participation in health care as well as in the strategical work of quality improvement on an organisational level.

Ämnesord

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap -- Omvårdnad (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences -- Nursing (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

child

healthcare worker

instrument development

patient participation

questionnaire

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)