Background The aim was to compare parent and child-reported health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of children born with esophageal atresia (EA) and determine factors that affect the level of parent–child agreement. Methods We included 63 parent–child dyads of children born with EA aged 8–18 from Germany and Sweden. The generic PedsQL 4.0™ questionnaire and the condition-specific EA QOL questionnaire were used to assess children’s HRQOL from parents' and children’s perspectives. The PedsQL™ Family Impact Module was used to assess parental HRQOL and Family Functioning. Results On an individual level, intra-class correlation coefficients indicated strong levels of parent–child agreement (.61–.97). At the group level, the analyses showed no significant differences between the responses of parents and children. When a disagreement occurred, parents were more likely to rate generic HRQOL lower than the children (19–35%) and condition-specific HRQOL higher than the children (17–33%). Findings of the binary logistic regression analyzes showed that the child’s age, gender, and country (Germany vs. Sweden) were significant predictors of parent–child agreement in condition-specific HRQOL. We did not identify any significant variables that explain agreement for the generic HRQOL. Conclusion The parent–child agreement is mostly good, suggesting that parent-reports are a reliable source of information. However, discrepancies may occur and can be explained by the child's age, gender, and country (Sweden vs. Germany). Both perspectives are essential sources for treating EA patients and should not be considered right or wrong. Instead, this information broadens the perspective on pediatric EA patients.

Background The aim was to compare parent and child reported health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of children born with esophageal atresia (EA) and to determine factors that affect the level of parent-child agreement. Methods We included 63 parent-child dyads of children born with EA aged 8-18 from Germany and Sweden. The generic PedsQL questionnaire and the condition-specific EA QOL questionnaire were used to assess children’s HRQOL from parents- and child’s perspective. The Peds QL Family Impact Module was used to assess parental HRQOL and Family Functioning.Results On an individual level, intra-class correlation coefficients indicated strong levels of parent-child agreement (.61-.97). At the group level, the analyses showed no significant differences between the responses of parents and children. In cases where disagreement occurred, parents were more likely to rate generic HRQOL lower than the children (19-35%) and condition-specific HRQOL higher than the children (17-33%). Findings of the multiple regression analysis showed that the country (Germany vs. Sweden) was found to be a significant predictor of parent-child agreement in generic HRQOL and parental HRQOL to be a significant predictor of parent-child agreement in condition-specific HRQOL.Conclusion The parent-child agreement is mostly good, suggesting that parent-reports are a reliable source of information. However, discrepancies may occur and cannot be explained by the child's age and gender, nor severity of the disease or Family Functioning, but solely by country respectively parental HRQOL. Clinicians should therefore not only observe the pediatric patient but also the parents.

Background The aim was to compare parent and child-reported health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of children born with esophageal atresia (EA) and determine factors that affect the level of parent-child agreement. Methods We included 63 parent-child dyads of children born with EA aged 8-18 from Germany and Sweden. The generic PedsQL 4.0TM questionnaire and the condition-specific EA QOL questionnaire were used to assess children’s HRQOL from parents' and children’s perspectives. The PedsQLTM Family Impact Module was used to assess parental HRQOL and Family Functioning.Results On an individual level, intra-class correlation coefficients indicated strong levels of parent-child agreement (.61-.97). At the group level, the analyses showed no significant differences between the responses of parents and children. When a disagreement occurred, parents were more likely to rate generic HRQOL lower than the children (19-35%) and condition-specific HRQOL higher than the children (17-33%). Findings of the binary logistic regression analyzes showed that the child’s age, gender, and country (Germany vs. Sweden) were significant predictors of parent-child agreement in condition-specific HRQOL. We did not identify any significant variables that explain agreement for the generic HRQOL.Conclusion The parent-child agreement is mostly good, suggesting that parent-reports are a reliable source of information. However, discrepancies may occur and can be explained by the child's age, gender, and country (Sweden vs. Germany). Both perspectives are essential sources for treating EA patients and should not be considered right or wrong. Instead, this information broadens the perspective on pediatric EA patients.