The  Childhood Health Assessment Question naire ( C-HAQ )  was the most extensively studied instrument and had high reliability , but only moderate correlations with other indices of disease activity and poor responsiveness to change in disease status .
The physician global assessment of disease activity ( PGA ) and articular indices had the strongest association with disease activity and were the most responsive to change .
Measures of psychosocial function and quality of life were moderately associated with measures of disease activity , but were less responsive to changes in disease status .
In children with JIA , no single instrument was superior in reliability or validity or in describing the impact of JIA .
Although the C-HAQ has been extensively evaluated , the PGA and articular indices appear to have the highest responsiveness to change and , therefore , the highest potential for detecting important differences in treatment response
OBJECTIVE To review the performance characteristics of the instruments most commonly used to measure clinical outcomes in juvenile idiopathic arthritis ( JIA ) , including global assessment s , articular indices , functional/disability assessment s , and quality of life measures .
METHODS As part of an Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality comparative effectiveness review of antirheumatic drugs , we explored the characteristics of commonly used outcome measures for JIA .
Clinical responsiveness of self-report functional assessment measures for children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis undergoing intraarticular corticosteroid injections.
OBJECTIVE The Childhood Health Assessment Question naire ( CHAQ ) , Juvenile Arthritis Functional Assessment Report ( JAFAR ) , and Juvenile Arthritis Functional Status Index ( JASI ) are widely used functional measures for juvenile idiopathic arthritis ( JIA ) that differ in content , format , and completion time . We compared the responsiveness and child-parent agreement of the JAFAR , CHAQ , and JASI in a prospect i ve , multicenter study . METHODS Children and adolescents from 5 rheumatology centers were enrolled . Subjects were about to undergo therapy ( intraarticular corticosteroid injections [ IAS ] and methotrexate or hip surgery ( MTX/hip ] ) expected to produce a functional improvement . All subjects were studied before the intervention and at 6 weeks and 6 months posttreatment . At each study visit , the 3 measures were administered in r and omized , balanced order to both parents and children . RESULTS A total of 92 subjects ( mean age 12.8 years ) were enrolled in the study , 74 of which were in the IAS group . The responsiveness of all 3 measures was moderate to strong . The st and ardized response mean at 6 weeks for the IAS group on the JAFAR , CHAQ , and JASI was 0.41 ( 95 % confidence interval [ 95 % CI ] 0.18 , 0.64 ) , 0.70 ( 95 % CI 0.47 , 0.93 ) , and 0.36 ( 95 % CI 0.13 , 0.59 ) , respectively . The CHAQ was somewhat more responsive to change at 6 weeks ( IAS group : relative efficiency 0.34 [ JAFAR ] , 0.27 [ JASI ] ) , but less responsive at 6 months ( MTX/hip group : relative efficiency 5.1 [ JAFAR ] , 3.9 [ JASI ] ) . All 3 question naires showed acceptable parent-child agreement , and overall , there were few differences between the 3 question naires . CONCLUSION The functional outcome measures currently used for JIA are all adequately responsive for use in trials or in the clinic setting . The choice of which measure to use should therefore be based on the time available for completion , the intended clinical / research use , and the depth of content required
The  Childhood Health Assessment Question naire ( C-HAQ )  was the most extensively studied instrument and had high reliability , but only moderate correlations with other indices of disease activity and poor responsiveness to change in disease status .
The physician global assessment of disease activity ( PGA ) and articular indices had the strongest association with disease activity and were the most responsive to change .
Measures of psychosocial function and quality of life were moderately associated with measures of disease activity , but were less responsive to changes in disease status .
In children with JIA , no single instrument was superior in reliability or validity or in describing the impact of JIA .
Although the C-HAQ has been extensively evaluated , the PGA and articular indices appear to have the highest responsiveness to change and , therefore , the highest potential for detecting important differences in treatment response
OBJECTIVE To review the performance characteristics of the instruments most commonly used to measure clinical outcomes in juvenile idiopathic arthritis ( JIA ) , including global assessment s , articular indices , functional/disability assessment s , and quality of life measures .
METHODS As part of an Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality comparative effectiveness review of antirheumatic drugs , we explored the characteristics of commonly used outcome measures for JIA .