The Thai version of the Montreal children’s hospital feeding scale (MCH-FS): Psychometric properties

Abstract

Objective: To standardize and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Thai version of the Montreal Children’s Hospital Feeding Scale (MCH-FS). Material and Method: The MCH-FS was translated and the cultural effects of the Thai version (Thai.MCH-FS) were reviewed. Caregivers of 200 children between the age of 12 and 48 months were interviewed and completed the Thai.MCH-FS. In addition to demographic information, each child had a physical exam and anthropometric measures were taken. Each child was classified with or without feeding problems by at least two of three pediatricians who were blind to the results of the feeding scale. Results: Internal consistency for reliability was high (Cronbach’s alpha at 0.835). The area under the ROC curve was 0.864. With a discrimination score of 40, both sensitivity (72%) and specificity (80.67%) were at acceptable levels. Factor analysis resulted in three factors accounting for 52.3%. Of the 200 children, 150 children were classified with no feeding problems and 50 with feeding problems. There were no significant differences in the characteristics of the two groups; however, the Thai.MCH-FS scores were significantly different for the two groups. Conclusion: The Thai version of the MCH-FS has been shown to be a valid and reliable short scale for detecting feeding problems in a pediatric care setting. © 2015, Medical Association of Thailand. All rights reserved.