Questionnaires for Growing Kids: Why Simple Surveys Are Key to Better Care

Children who receive growth hormone treatment get asked to answer questionnaires about their daily lives.

These tools, known as PROMs, are meant to show how happy and healthy a kid feels. Unfortunately, most doctors do not use them every time they see a patient. This leaves a big hole in tracking how well these treatments work.

Researchers went through 50 different surveys found in medical articles and expert discussions. After checking for flaws, they kept 37 strong ones. Twenty-six of these were general surveys covering broad topics, while eleven were specific to growth hormone therapy. Many of these could be filled out by the child themselves or by a parent. Most took less than fifteen minutes to complete. The youngest participants were seven years old, though some studies included even younger children.