Measuring health status: self-, interviewer, and physician reports of overall health

This study examines and compares respondent, interviewer, and physician ratings of overall health.

Data are from the 2006 Social Environment and Biomarkers of Aging Study, a nationally representative survey of older adults in Taiwan. Ordered probit models are used to examine factors associated with self- and external assessments of health and discordant health ratings.

Our results suggest similarities and differences in factors influencing health ratings across evaluators but a high level of interevaluator disagreement in ratings. Discrepancies in ratings between physicians and both respondents and interviewers are associated with the greater weight given to functional limitations and psychological well-being in interviewer and respondent ratings and to the importance of clinical measures or risk factors of illness and mortality in physician assessments.

Interviewer and physician assessments may be complementary to self-assessed health measures. The importance and implications of these findings for future research are discussed.