Abstract
BackgroundThe following minimal set of valid health domains for tracking the health of both clinical and general populations has recently been proposed: 1) energy and drive functions, 2) emotional functions, 3) sensation of pain, 4) carrying out daily routine, 5) walking and moving around, and 6) remunerative employment. This study investigates whether these domains can be integrated into a sound psychometric measure to adequately assess, compare, and monitor the health of populations.MethodsData from waves 3 and 4 of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) were analysed (N = 9779 and 11,050). From ELSA, 12 items operationalizing the six domains of the minimal generic set were identified. The Partial Credit Model (PCM) was applied to create a health metric based on these items. The Item Response Theory (IRT) model assumptions of unidimensionality, local independence, and monotonicity were evaluated, and Differential Item Functioning (DIF) was examined for sex and age groups. The psychometric properties of: 1) internal consistency reliability, 2) construct validity, and 3) sensitivity to change were evaluated to establish the final health metric.ResultsIRT model assumptions were found to be fulfilled. None of the items showed DIF by sex or age group. The final health metric demonstrated sound psychometric properties.ConclusionsThe health metric developed in this study – based on the domains of the minimal generic set – proved useful for a wide range of health comparisons, especially for different groups of persons, and both cross-sectionally and over time. Monitoring health over time provides especially useful information for health care providers and health policymakers and both in clinical settings and the general population. The developed health metric offers a wide range of applications, including comparisons of levels of health among different groups in the general population, clinical populations, and even populations within and across different countries.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12963-016-0088-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
The following minimal set of valid health domains for tracking the health of both clinical and general populations has recently been proposed: 1) energy and drive functions, 2) emotional functions, 3) sensation of pain, 4) carrying out daily routine, 5) walking and moving around, and 6) remunerative employment
This study aims to investigate whether data on the domains of the minimal generic set can be integrated into a psychometrically sound health metric
Development of the health metric When testing the Item Response Theory (IRT) model assumptions for the combined dataset, permuted parallel analysis indicated the presence of two factors
Summary
The following minimal set of valid health domains for tracking the health of both clinical and general populations has recently been proposed: 1) energy and drive functions, 2) emotional functions, 3) sensation of pain, 4) carrying out daily routine, 5) walking and moving around, and 6) remunerative employment. One frequently used approach to measure the health of populations is to generate a composite score of overall health, taking into consideration disease severity in terms of the impact of health conditions on individuals. In this approach, a set of meaningful domains of functioning, such as walking, self-care, memory, and pain, is selected and used to produce a score. A set of meaningful domains of functioning, such as walking, self-care, memory, and pain, is selected and used to produce a score This approach, does not account for comparability per se. If the domains of functioning included in studies and surveys and the method of creating a corresponding composite score vary largely, comparability is compromised
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
