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. 2011 Mar;16(3):147-e17.
doi: 10.1093/pch/16.3.147.

The Montreal Children's Hospital Feeding Scale: A brief bilingual screening tool for identifying feeding problems

Maria Ramsay  1 , Chantal Martel, Mafalda Porporino, Catherine Zygmuntowicz
Affiliations

The Montreal Children's Hospital Feeding Scale: A brief bilingual screening tool for identifying feeding problems

Maria Ramsay et al. Paediatr Child Health. 2011 Mar.

Abstract
in English, French

Objective: To establish the psychometric characteristics of a newly developed, brief bilingual 14-item parent report tool (The Montreal Children's Hospital Feeding Scale [MCH-Feeding Scale]) designed to identify feeding problems in children six months to six years of age.

Methods: To establish construct validity, 198 mothers of children visiting community paediatrician's offices (normative sample) and 174 mothers of children referred to a feeding clinic (clinical sample) completed the scale. Test-retest reliability was obtained by the re-administration of the MCH-Feeding Scale to 25 children in each sample.

Results: Excellent construct validity was confirmed when the mean [± SD] scores of the normative and clinical samples were compared (32.65±12.73 versus 60.48±13.04, respectively; P<0.01). Test-retest reliabilities were high for both groups (normative r=0.845, clinical r=0.92).

Conclusion: The MCH-Feeding Scale can be used by paediatricians and other health care professionals for quick identification of feeding problems.

OBJECTIF :: Établir les caractéristiques psychométriques d’un bref outil bilingue de rapport en 14 points par les parents (l’échelle d’alimentation de L’Hôpital de Montréal pour enfants [échelle d’alimentation-HME]) récemment conçu pour repérer les problèmes alimentaires chez les enfants de six mois à six ans.

MÉTHODOLOGIE :: Pour établir la validité conceptuelle de l’outil, 198 mères d’enfants ayant consulté au cabinet de pédiatres communautaires (échantillon normatif) et 174 mères d’enfants ayant été aiguillés vers une clinique d’alimentation (échantillon clinique) ont rempli l’échelle. Pour obtenir la fiabilité de test-retest, les chercheurs ont réadministré l’échelle d’alimentation-HME à 25 enfants de chaque échantillon.

RÉSULTATS :: L’excellence de la validité conceptuelle a été confirmée lors de la comparaison des indices moyens (± ÉT) des échantillons normatifs et cliniques (indice moyen de 32,65±12,73 par rapport à 60,48±13,04, respectivement; P<0,01). La fiabilité de test-retest était élevée dans les deux groupes (normatif r=0,845, clinique r=0,92).

CONCLUSION :: L’échelle d’alimentation-HME peut être utilisée par les pédiatres et les autres professionnels de la santé pour déceler rapidement des problèmes alimentaires.

Keywords: Assessment of health care needs; Child; Failure to thrive; Feeding and eating disorders of childhood; Feeding behaviour; Infant.

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