Modern Pediatrics. Ukraine. (2026).4(156): 98-104. doi: 10.15574/SP.2026.4(156).98104
Mazulov O. V.
National Pirogov Memorial Medical University, Vinnytsya, Ukraine

For citation: Mazulov OV. (2026). Ukrainian adaptation and psychometric evaluation of the BC-QoL questionnaire in children with non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis. Modern Pediatrics. Ukraine. 4(156): 98-104. doi: 10.15574/SP.2026.4(156).98104.
Article received: Feb 04, 2026. Accepted for publication: May 12, 2026.

Based on surveys of parents and children with bronchiectasis (BE), quality of life (QoL) has been identified as the highest-priority treatment outcome. An international consensus study aimed at developing a core outcome set for paediatric bronchiectasis also identified QoL as a key outcome reflecting treatment effectiveness. The first disease-specific instrument developed to assess QoL in children with bronchiectasis was the parent-proxy Bronchiectasis Child Quality of Life questionnaire (BC-QoL). Until now, no Ukrainian-language version of this instrument has been available.
Aim – to perform a cross-cultural adaptation of the BC-QoL questionnaire into Ukrainian (BC-QoL-UA) and to evaluate its internal consistency, responsiveness to changes in clinical status, and convergent validity in children with non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis.
Materials and methods. The questionnaire was adapted using a forward–backward translation procedure followed by cognitive testing. Psychometric evaluation was conducted in 22 children with non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis who were assessed twice: during a clinically stable state and during an exacerbation. Internal consistency, responsiveness to changes in clinical status, and convergent validity were evaluated. All scores are presented after reverse coding.
Results. The BC-QoL-UA fully retained the structure of the original instrument. Compared with the clinically stable state, the total score decreased significantly during exacerbation, with significant deterioration across all three domains in 20 of 22 children. Correlations between the total BC-QoL-UA score and forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV₁), as well as cough severity, were weak and not statistically significant.
Conclusions. The BC-QoL-UA demonstrated excellent internal consistency and high responsiveness to changes in clinical status in children with bronchiectasis. The absence of floor and ceiling effects indicates adequate discriminative capacity of the scale and supports its suitability for detecting individual changes in clinical status over time.
The author declares no conflicts of interest.
Keywords: bronchiectasis, children, quality of life, questionnaire, cross-cultural adaptation, BC-QoL.

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