Item generation for a proxy health related quality of life measure in very young children.

The need for an instrument to measure appropriate aspects of HRQoL in infants and young children became apparent as items included in existing measures did not cover the required spectrum. The identification of the final items was based on a sound conceptual model, acceptability to stakeholders and consideration of the observability of the item selected. The pruned item bank of 11 items needs to be subject to further testing with the target population to ensure validity and reliability before a new measure can be developed.