Understanding, Assessing and Improving Health-Related Quality of Life of Young People with Achondroplasia- A Collaboration between a Patient Organization and Academic Medicine.

Achondroplasia (ACH) is a rare, genetically determined health condition. Patients suffer from disproportional short stature and multiple physical and functional impairments as well as socioemotional problems. Despite the burden of disease, only few studies focus on health-related quality of life (HrQoL) of young ACH patients. In a series of studies, the BKMF e.V. in cooperation with the UKE studied ACH patients' and parents' experience of HrQoL, their responses to HrQoL questionnaires and their evaluation of a HrQoL based intervention. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches were used. Psychometrically appropriate instruments were identified and the wellbeing of young patients with ACH was analyzed showing no difference from a healthy norm sample using generic instruments. However, disease-specific instruments showed discrepancies between patients with proportional and disproportional short stature. Still, results show a significant effect by age and the evaluation of the counselling concept reveals that young ACH-patients especially benefit from such intervention.