Capturing Children's Voices in Healthcare: Development of the PREM‐Ped Questionnaire

Aim Patient‐reported experience measures (PREMs) capture how care is experienced and are essential quality indicators in paediatric healthcare, supporting children's right to be heard. Compared with patient‐reported outcome measures (PROMs), which assess health status and well‐being, PREMs are less developed, particularly for children. This study aimed to describe the development and initial psychometric evaluation of PREM‐Ped, a short, child‐friendly questionnaire designed to capture children's own healthcare experiences. Methods PREM‐Ped was developed using a multi‐step, participatory process. Content validity was established through a focus group with children who had experience of paediatric healthcare. The questionnaire was refined through four iterative rounds of cognitive interviews. A digitally administered pilot study was conducted in out‐ or inpatient units at Astrid Lindgren Children's Hospital in Sweden during spring 2025. Children aged 4–15 years completed the PREM‐Ped after care ( n = 586). Qualitative data were analysed thematically. Validity was examined by comparing experiences in acute and elective care. Psychometric properties were evaluated using a unidimensional Rasch measurement model. Results The development process resulted in a short, comprehensible questionnaire suitable for children and adolescents. Initial psychometric evaluation demonstrated satisfactory measurement properties. Validity was supported, with PREM‐Ped distinguishing between acute and elective care settings. Conclusion We developed PREM‐Ped, a short, child‐friendly questionnaire that enables meaningful measurement of children's healthcare experiences and may support benchmarking and systematic child‐centred quality improvement.