Instruments to assess self-care among healthy children: A systematic review of measurement properties.

AIM: To identify, critically appraise and summarize the measurement properties of instruments to assess self-care in healthy children.

BACKGROUND: Assessing self-care is a proper consideration for nursing practice and nursing research. No systematic review summarizes instruments of measurement validated in healthy children.

DESIGN: Psychometric review in accordance with the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) panel.

DATA SOURCES: MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Web of Science and Open Grey were searched from their inception to December 2016.

REVIEW METHODS: Validation studies with a healthy child population were included. Search was not restricted by language. Two reviewers independently assessed the methodological quality of included studies using the COSMIN checklist.

RESULTS: Eleven studies were included in the review assessing the measurement properties of ten instruments. There was a maximum of two studies per instrument. None of the studies evaluated the properties of test-retest reliability, measurement error, criterion validity and responsiveness. Internal consistency and structural validity were rated as "excellent" or "good" in four studies. Four studies were rated as "excellent" in content validity. Cross-cultural validity was rated as "poor" in the two studies (three instruments) which cultural adaptation was carried out.

CONCLUSION: The evidence available does not allow firm conclusions about the instruments identified in terms of reliability and validity. Future research should focus on generate evidence about a wider range of measurement properties of these instruments using a rigorous methodology, as well as instrument testing on different countries and child population.