TY - JOUR
T1 - A simplified index of physical health for use in epidemiological studies
AU - Abramson, J. H.
AU - Ritter, Michal
AU - Gofin, J.
AU - Kark, J. D.
N1 - Funding Information:
Acknowledgements-The survey was supported by a grant from the National Council for Research and Development, Israel and the G.S.F. Munchen, Germany, and the analysis by the Committee for Research and Prevention in Occupational Safety and Health, Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Israel. We are grateful to Mr D. Bar-Giora for his assistance with computer processing.
PY - 1992/6
Y1 - 1992/6
N2 - A battery of simple questions designed to measure physical health, in terms of ability to perform physical activities, was appraised in 1839 men and women aged ≥ 50 years in a community survey in Jerusalem. The number of "Yes" answers to six questions, five of which could be skipped if the first one was answered positively, was found to be a satisfactory index, with a high degree of consistency-reliability in the total sample (Cronbach's alpha coefficient = 0.97) and in subgroups categorized by sex, age, education, or father's region of birth. The index constituted an excellent Guttman scale (coefficient of reproducibility = 0.96, coefficient of scalability = 0.94), indicating that the score serves both as a measure of physical health and as an indication of the profile of capabilities. Associations with age and other variables conformed with expectations, attesting the construct validity of the index.
AB - A battery of simple questions designed to measure physical health, in terms of ability to perform physical activities, was appraised in 1839 men and women aged ≥ 50 years in a community survey in Jerusalem. The number of "Yes" answers to six questions, five of which could be skipped if the first one was answered positively, was found to be a satisfactory index, with a high degree of consistency-reliability in the total sample (Cronbach's alpha coefficient = 0.97) and in subgroups categorized by sex, age, education, or father's region of birth. The index constituted an excellent Guttman scale (coefficient of reproducibility = 0.96, coefficient of scalability = 0.94), indicating that the score serves both as a measure of physical health and as an indication of the profile of capabilities. Associations with age and other variables conformed with expectations, attesting the construct validity of the index.
KW - Epidemiological methods
KW - Functional capacity
KW - Health indices
KW - Physical health
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U2 - 10.1016/0895-4356(92)90137-C
DO - 10.1016/0895-4356(92)90137-C
M3 - Article
C2 - 1607904
AN - SCOPUS:0026764730
SN - 0895-4356
VL - 45
SP - 651
EP - 658
JO - Journal of Clinical Epidemiology
JF - Journal of Clinical Epidemiology
IS - 6
ER -