OBJECTIVES: to describe the process of cultural adaptation to Brazil Generic Module DISABKIDS for Chronic Conditions (DCGM-37), a generic instrument for measuring the quality of life of children and adolescents with chronic conditions. METHODS: a cross-cutting methodological study was carried out in pediatric outpatients clinics in Brazil, covering 118 children/adolescents with asthma or diabetes and their parents or carers. Translation, back-translation and cultural adaptation were carried out to obtain conceptual and semantic equivalence at the level of individual items.Equivalence was measured statistically by describing the initial psychometric properties, using validity and reliability criteria. RESULTS: most of the items were considered relevant and 14 of them were modified following the semantic validation phase. Values for Cronbach's alpha were α=0.92 and α=0.93, for the version for children and adolescents and the version for parents and carers, respectively. Analysis of correlations between items and dimensions revealed a satisfactory degree of convergent and discriminant validity. CONCLUSIONS: the initial phase indicates that DISABKIDS module is a valid and reliable tool for measuring quality of life in a Brazilian context.
Quality of life; Child; Adolescents; Chronic disease; Validation studies
