As indicated previously, content validity for the item sets was addressed by grounding the questionnaire development in an earlier survey instruments, focus groups and in the development of the form with guidance from an expert panel.
In developing this instrument, focus groups were conducted with older adults to consider the relevance of the theoretical framework for understanding self-perceptions of aging and to develop items for the proposed Aging Perceptions Questionnaire (APQ).
The study employed a mixed methods design, including a pre and post application of a validated survey instrument, focus-group interviews, and content analysis of games developed by the students.
From the four acceptable instruments, each focus group independently chose the PHQ-9 as the most appropriate and easiest to translate.
The AQoL-4D item bank included items obtained from a review of published health related instruments, from focus groups and from expert analyses [ 8].
In accordance with HRQOL instrument development protocols, the PedsQL™ NF1 Module was designed through the following five phases – 1) literature review; 2) outline of the instrument; 3) pilot instrument development – a) focus group/semi-structured interviews, b) cognitive interviews, c) experts' review; 4) pilot testing and 5) field testing.
First, we did not perform an extensive testing of the instrument through focus groups and individual interviews with Brazilian adolescents, in order to better evaluate conceptual equivalence and content validity of the instrument.
We designed a mixed-methods research study, linking common themes across the survey and focus group instruments in order to facilitate comparison of qualitative and quantitative data.
Box 2 Focus group instrument, as it appears in English Key informant instrument 1.
Box 1 Key informant interview script, as it appears in English Focus group instrument 1.
