OBJECTIVES: Korean medicine (KM) is one of East Asian traditional medicine similar to traditional Chinese medicine and Kampo medicine in Japan. When Korean medicine doctors (KMDs) examine pediatric patients, they use questionnaires to measure the overall health status of children. However, there has been no standardized pediatric patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) suitable for the characteristics of KM. The aim of this study was to determine the level of consensus among experts in regard to concept, structure, items, and sources of content for a pediatric PROM for KM.

METHODS: Delphi questionnaires on a pediatric PROM for KM were distributed by e-mail to 23 experts in pediatrics of KM on January 24, 2018. In three-round survey, when more than two-thirds of the panels agreed or disagreed with the given sentence, they were considered to have reached a conclusion.

RESULTS: Eighteen experts completed the questionnaires in each round. They highly agreed that it is necessary to develop a standardized PROM that can be used by KMDs when they treat pediatric patients. It was also agreed that the new PROM should be multidimensional, including the body functions, activities, and participation of children, use Likert scales and a 3-month recall period, and provide a profile score. In order to measure the overall health of children, it has been agreed that items such as fever, cold hands and feet, hyperhidrosis, abdominal pain, vomiting, anorexia, diarrhea, constipation, frequent urination, sleeping disorder, frequent infections, rhinorrhea, and epistaxis should be included. Focus group interview with parents and specialists, systematic literature reviews, and existing pediatric PROMs were considered relevant sources for content.

CONCLUSIONS: A general consensus was reached by the panels on the concept and construction of pediatric PROM for KM. The data of this study will serve as the basis for the development of a new PROM.