Does the single-item self-rated health measure the same thing across different wordings? Construct validity study.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

The self-rated health (SRH) item is frequently used in health surveys but variations of its form (wording, response options) may hinder comparisons between versions over time or across surveys. The objectives were to determine (a) whether three SRH forms are equivalent, (b) the form with the best construct validity and (c) the best coding scheme to maximize equivalence across forms.

Methods

We used data from 58,023 respondents of the Swiss Health Survey. Three SRH forms were used. Response options varied across forms and we explored four coding schemes (two considering SRH as continuous, two as dichotomous). Construct validity of the SRH was assessed using 34 health predictors to estimate the explained variance.

Results

Distributions of response options were s

SUBMITTER: Cullati S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7434800 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature