Abstract
ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the World Health Organization’s five item well-being index (WHO-5) when administered to adults living with HIV or epilepsy in a rural setting at the coast of Kenya.MethodsA case control study design was conducted among 230 adults aged 18–50 years, who comprised 147 cases (63 living with epilepsy and 84 living with HIV) and 83 healthy controls. The participants were administered to a face-to-face interview during which they completed the Swahili version of WHO-5 well-being index, the Major Depression Inventory (MDI) and responded to some items on their socio-demographic characteristics. Analysis to assess internal consistency, construct validity, discriminant validity, and convergent validity of the Swahili version of WHO-5 well-being index was conducted. A multivariate regression was carried out to assess the association between psychological wellbeing (assessed using Swahili version of WHO-5 well-being index) and having a chronic illness (HIV or epilepsy).ResultsThe Swahili version of WHO-5 well-being index demonstrated good internal consistency with Cronbach alpha ranges of 0.86–0.88 among the three study groups. The tool had good discriminant validity. A one factor structure of the tool was obtained from confirmatory factor analysis (overall Comparative Fit Index = 1.00, Tuckler Lewis Index = 1.01, Root Mean Square of Error Approximation = 0.00). Living with HIV or epilepsy in comparison to being a healthy control was significantly associated with greater odds of having sub-optimal psychological wellbeing.ConclusionOur findings demonstrate that the Swahili version of WHO-5 well-being index has good psychometric properties and is appropriate for use to evaluate psychological well-being among adults living with chronic conditions such as HIV or epilepsy from a rural low resource setting in Kenya. Given its brevity and ease of use, the Swahili version of WHO-5 well-being index could potentially be used by lay workers and other paraprofessional to monitor psychological well-being among chronically ill adults in resource poor settings.
Highlights
Chronic illnesses such as Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) or epilepsy are often accompanied by psychological problems which subsequently contribute to a low quality of life [1, 2]
The Cronbach alphas were all high and they were: 0.87 among the control group; 0.88 among the adults living with HIV; and 0.86 among the adults living with epilepsy
We further conducted a multivariate logistic regression analysis to investigate the association between psychosocial wellbeing (using the Swahili version of World Health Organization (WHO)-5 well-being index, Optimal psychological wellbeing (> 50) and Sub-optimal psychological wellbeing (≤50)) and chronic illness status of the participants
Summary
Chronic illnesses such as HIV or epilepsy are often accompanied by psychological problems which subsequently contribute to a low quality of life [1, 2]. Identification of these problems through screening using psychological tools in this population group would be integral in optimizing their care. The 5-item WHO well-being index (WHO-5) [4] measures psychological well-being and was developed from the 10-item WHO well-being index (WHO-10), which was originally a 28-item scale [5]. The tool has been demonstrated to have adequate validity for measurement of well-being in a wide range of patient groups such as people living with diabetes, breast cancer, cardiac disease, and neurological conditions as well as among paediatric and geriatric sub-populations [6]
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
