This Article  • References  • Full text PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in this journal  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

Barbara Starfield, MD, MPH; Christopher B. Forrest, MD, PhD; Sheryl A. Ryan, MD; Anne W. Riley, PhD; Margaret E. Ensminger, PhD; Bert F. Green, PhD

Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1996;150(12):1249-1256.

Abstract
Background
Accountability of health services in meeting needs and assessing outcomes is hampered by the absence of tools to assess health, especially in children and youth. Because it is no longer adequate to assess health by a narrow focus on biological and physiological measurers, instruments that assess functional status, person-focused general health status, and overall well-being in a more comprehensive way are needed.

Objective
To examine whether a health status instrument we have developed discriminates between teenagers in schools and teenagers attending clinics for acute or chronic conditions.

Methods
Teenagers (aged 11-17 years) in schools and in general medical and specialty clinics completed a questionnaire The Child Health and Illness Profile-Adolescent Edition (CHIP-AE), comprehensively covering aspects of health in 6 domains: discomfort, satisfaction with health, disorders, achievement of social expectations, risks, and resilience.

Results
Acutely ill teenagers reported more physical discomfort, minor illnesses, and lower physical fitness; chronically ill teenagers reported more limitations of activity, long-term medical disorders, dissatisfaction with their health, and less physical fitness than teenagers in the school samples. Age, sex, and social class did not explain the differences. Teenagers within the acutely and chronically ill clinic populations differed substantially in their health status.

Implications
Availability of a comprehensive instrument (CHIP-AE) to assess adolescent health provides a means of documenting health needs and outcomes in populations of teenagers with acute or chronic illness. The heterogeneity within these groups provides support for a person-focused (rather than a disease-focused) approach to assessing both needs for care and the influence of care on promoting health.

Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1996;150:1249-1256

Author Affiliations
From the Department of Health Policy and Management, The Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health (Drs Starfield, Forrest, Riley, and Ensminger); and the Department of Psychology, The Johns Hopkins University (Dr Green), Baltimore, Md; and Department of Pediatrics, University of Rochester School of Medicine, Rochester, NY (Dr Ryan).

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Perceived health status and use of healthcare services among children and adolescents
Berra et al.
Eur J Public Health 2006;16:405-414.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Adolescents' Perception of Epilepsy Compared With Other Chronic Diseases: "Through a Teenager's Eyes"
Cheung and Wirrell
J Child Neurol 2006;21:214-222.
ABSTRACT  

Assessing Health Status and Health Care Utilization in Adolescents with Chronic Kidney Disease
Gerson et al.
J. Am. Soc. Nephrol. 2005;16:1427-1432.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Health-Related Quality of Life in Urban Elementary Schoolchildren
Mansour et al.
Pediatrics 2003;111:1372-1381.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Validation of a Pediatric Voice Quality-of-Life Instrument: The Pediatric Voice Outcome Survey
Hartnick
Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2002;128:919-922.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

The Health Profile of Incarcerated Male Youths
Forrest et al.
Pediatrics 2000;105:286-291.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Exposure to Drug Trafficking Among Urban, Low-Income African American Children and Adolescents
Li et al.
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 1999;153:161-168.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

A Computerized School-Based Health Assessment with Rapid Feedback to Improve Adolescent Health
Bracken et al.
CLIN PEDIATR 1998;37:677-683.
ABSTRACT  

Assessment of the Quality of Life of Children
Titman et al.
Clin Child Psychol Psychiatry 1997;2:597-606.
ABSTRACT  

The Impact of Asthma on the Health Status of Adolescents
Forrest et al.
Pediatrics 1997;99:e1-e1.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT