The development and psychometric testing of the geriatric health promotion scale

As life expectancy increases, being old is no longer synonymous with frailty, weakness, or poor health. Today, most people expect to maintain or promote their health by adopting healthy lifestyle habits.

This study developed and tested the psychometric Geriatric Health Promotion (GHP) scale. The GHP scale is a multidimensional instrument that attempts to evaluate lifestyle patterns prevalent among senior citizens in Taiwan.

Data used in this study were acquired from a large health-promotion study that targeted elderly residents of rural areas in Taiwan. All subjects were aged 65 years or older and resided in the four communities with the highest mean age ratios in the nation. Trained research assistants assisted the participants to answer the research instrument questions.

A total of 520 participants over 65 years of age (mean = 75.02 ± 6.04) were enrolled in this study. The initial draft of the GHP scale included 33 items. After conducting the item analysis, correlation analysis, and factor analysis, the final draft of the GHP was reduced to 22 items. A six-factor solution with Varimax rotation offered the most parsimonious model, with health habits, community participation, health responsibilities, healthy diet, regular exercise, and oral health, explaining 68% of the total variance. The Cronbach's alpha for the developed model scored as high as .94, with a test-retest reliability of .72 (p < .001).

The GHP scale is a valid self-report instrument for community-dwelling older adults. The GHP scale is easily administered in less than 10 minutes. We recommend that healthcare providers use the GHP scale to evaluate the effectiveness of health promotion programs targeting older adults.