Is the single self-rated health item reliable in India? A construct validity study

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Services Research
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Self-rated health (SRH) is a simple, valid, and reliable measure of general health in high-income countries.
• Its use in low- and middle-income countries, like India, is debated due to a lack of evidence.
• India has incorporated the SRH item into national health surveys without established validity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the construct validity of the self-rated health (SRH) item in India.
• To determine if SRH accurately reflects various health dimensions in the Indian population.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from 4492 men and 4736 women in the 2003 World Health Survey (India sample).
• Regressed the SRH item on 43 health status indicators across physical, mental, functional health, chronic diseases, and health behaviors.
• Employed sex-stratified multivariable linear regressions, adjusting for demographic and socioeconomic variables.

Main Results:

• SRH ratings varied: very good (21.8%), good (36.4%), moderate (26.6%), bad (13.2%), very bad (2.0%).
• Health dimensions explained significant SRH variance: 45% in men and 48% in women.
• All 43 health indicators showed associations with SRH in the expected directions.

Conclusions:

• The self-rated health (SRH) item exhibits satisfactory construct validity in the Indian context.
• SRH is a suitable tool for monitoring population health status in Indian demographic and health surveys.