Abstract
BackgroundThe present study was conducted to design and evaluate the psychometric properties of a questionnaire for assessing the healthy lifestyle among older adults in Iran.MethodsFirst, items were generated based on a qualitative study, the literature review, and with help received from experts in gerontology and questionnaire design. Then, content validity was carried out. Accordingly, a cross sectional study was conducted to perform factor analysis and known groups comparison in order to examine the construct validity. Internal consistency was measured by the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient and the stability of the questionnaire was evaluated by estimating interclass correlation coefficient (ICC).ResultsIn total 68 items was generated. Following development process 22 items were removed and a provisional version of the questionnaire with 46 items was subjected to psychometric evaluation. At this stage a sample of 390 elderly people attending the community centers in Tehran, Iran were entered into the study and completed the questionnaire. Most elderly were female (52.8%) and the mean age of participants was 67.97 (SD ± 7.77) years. After performing factor analysis, overall 10 items were removed due to low loading and the questionnaire was reduced to 35 items tapping into eight factors, which explained a total of 57.1% of the variance. In addition, the results obtained from known groups comparison indicated that the questionnaire well differentiated among participants who were differed in self-reported health condition. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient showed excellent internal consistency (alpha = 0.89). The intraclass correlation coefficient also indicated a good stability for the questionnaire (ICC = 0.94).ConclusionThe healthy lifestyle questionnaire for elderly (Heal) can be used as a simple and an easy-to-use valid and reliable measure in determining healthy life style and the frequency of health-oriented activities among older adults.
Highlights
The present study was conducted to design and evaluate the psychometric properties of a questionnaire for assessing the healthy lifestyle among older adults in Iran
Owing to the accelerated phenomenon of population aging in Iran as in other countries, demographic conditions are changing and moving toward aging and its resultant consequences [4]. These changes will most likely lead to important economic, health, and social challenges, and a growing prevalence of chronic conditions will increase the need for health improvement interventions by healthcare providers as well as family members and communities
The study was carried out in four phases. These are described as follows: Item generation In order to generate items for the questionnaire a review of the literature, and a qualitative study was conducted to form the concept of a healthy lifestyle for elderly
Summary
Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, improved living conditions and life expectancy have resulted in an increase in the population of older adults worldwide. Owing to the accelerated phenomenon of population aging in Iran as in other countries, demographic conditions are changing and moving toward aging and its resultant consequences [4]. These changes will most likely lead to important economic, health, and social challenges, and a growing prevalence of chronic conditions will increase the need for health improvement interventions by healthcare providers as well as family members and communities. It must be noted that modification and improvement of lifestyle are important prerequisites for maintaining good health [5] Given the growth in chronic conditions and, based on the health promotion approaches, people must be empowered to accept responsibility for their own health and adopt a healthy lifestyle [6]
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