This study exampled the properties of a child-completed version of the 
Hydrocephalus Outcome Questionnaire (cHOQ) and compared these with parental 
responses to the HOQ (parent version). This was a cross-sectional study in the 
outpatient clinics at three Canadian paediatric hospitals (Toronto, Vancouver, 
and Halifax). All cognitively-capable children with previously treated 
hydrocephalus who were aged between 6 and 19 years were eligible. Parents 
completed the HOQ and the Health Utilities Index Mark 3; children completed the 
cHOQ. A total of 273 children participated (146 males, 127 females; mean age 14 
y 1 mo, SD 2 y 7 mo). Internal consistency of the cHOQ was 0.93 and test-retest 
reliability was 0.86 (95% confidence interval 0.78-0.92). Mother-child agreement 
and father-child agreement were 0.57 (0.40-0.68) and 0.62 (0.48-0.73) 
respectively. Agreement was higher for assessments of physical health, but lower 
for assessments of cognitive health and social-emotional health. There was 
greater parent-child agreement for older children. When there was disagreement, 
it seemed that children tended to rate their health better than their parents 
did. In older children with hydrocephalus, the cHOQ appears to be a 
scientifically reliable means of assessing long-term outcome. The differences in 
child and parent perceptions of health need to be appreciated when conducting 
outcome studies in this population.