Abstract
Background: Single-item measures of physical and mental health are feasible for older adults, but their validity for that age group is unclear. This study tested validity of a global self-rated health and a global self-rated happiness measure in a large sample of community-dwelling older adults in Taiwan.Methods: A cross-sectional sample of 3,982 men and women aged 65 or older in Yilan, Taiwan, provided data on global self-rated health and happiness using 100-point numerical scales. The Physical Component Summary of the 12-Item Short Form Health Survey (version 2) and the Groningen Activity Restriction Scale were used to test the validity of the self-rated health item. The Mental Component of that 12-item scale and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale were validators regarding the self-rated happiness item. Criterion validity was tested using the 12-Item Short Form Health Survey (version 2).Results: The correlations between the self-rated health and happiness measures and the 12-Item Short Form Health Survey (version 2) validators were positive and statistically significant, supporting convergent validity. Sufficient divergent validity was demonstrated through the negative and significant relationship between the self-rated health item and the Groningen Activity Restriction Scale scores and the negative and significant relationship between the self-rated happiness item and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Optimal cut-off scores for physical and mental health states depended on age and gender.Conclusion: The global self-rated health and happiness measures were validated. Cut-off scores for evaluating older adults' physical and mental health should be age- and gender-specific.
Highlights
Population aging is dramatically increasing around the world, and evaluating and eliminating health problems for older adults in the community are important aspects of public health
The present study found global self-rated health and happiness were correlated with each other, the global self-rated health measure had a stronger relationship to the physical component summary (PCS), supporting the results of a previous study [14]
The present study found that global self-rated health significantly related to Mental Component Summary (MCS), it was not a stronger association than that of global self-rated happiness with MCS
Summary
Population aging is dramatically increasing around the world, and evaluating and eliminating health problems for older adults in the community are important aspects of public health. Physical and mental health assessments are major components of comprehensive geriatric assessments [1] For these evaluations, the paper-and-pencil questionnaire remains the most feasible tool, but older adults’ cognitive, functional and aging-related vision and hearing losses tend to increase the costs, decrease the validity and reduce older people’s willingness to participate in these evaluations. It has been suggested that a numerical rating scale in response to a global question might be more accurate for measuring older adults’ health status [7]. To the best of our knowledge, no previous study has investigated the validity of global self-rated health measures with numerical scales for older adults in Asia. Single-item measures of physical and mental health are feasible for older adults, but their validity for that age group is unclear.
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