An assessment of the construct validity of the CHU9D in the Australian adolescent general population

Purpose: To assess the construct validity of the CHU9D in an adolescent general population sample. The CHU9D is a new generic preference-based measure of health-related quality of life developed specifically for application in the economic evaluation of health care treatments and interventions for young people. Methods: A web-based survey was developed including the CHU9D and HUI2 instruments and administered to a community-based sample of consenting adolescents (n = 710) aged 11-17 years. The practicality, face and construct validity of the CHU9D was examined. The relationship between the CHU9D and HUI2 instruments was assessed by a comparison of responses to similar dimensions and the utility scores derived from the two instruments. Results: The CHU9D demonstrated high completion rates. CHU9D was able to discriminate between respondents according to their self-reported general health (Kruskal-Wallis P value <0.001). The mean CHU9D adolescent population utilities were similar to those generated from the HUI2 [Mean (SD) CHU9D utility 0.844 (0.102) and HUI2 utility 0.872 (0.138)], and the intra-class correlation coefficient indicated good levels of agreement overall (ICC = 0.742). Conclusion: The findings from this study provide support for the practicality, face and construct validity of the CHU9D for application with adolescents aged 11-17 years.