The Reliability and Validity of the 5-Item Who Well-Being Index (WHO-5) amongst Doctors and Nurses in Nigeria

The WHO-5 is a brief measure of psychological well-being. Validity studies for the WHO-5 are quite limited in sub-Saharan Africa and most importantly, no study has confirmed the unidimensional factor structure of the instrument in Nigeria. The aim of this research is to evaluate the reliability and determine the unidimensional factor structure of the WHO-5 well-being index in a population of medical doctors and nurses in Nigeria during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Overall, 464 medical doctors and nurses from various parts of Nigeria, completed the assessment between April and July 2020. The participants completed the WHO-5 well-being index and the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was carried out. The internal consistency of the WHO-5 was measured and external validity was determined as well.

The inter-item correlations among the WHO-5 items ranged from 0.447 to 0.685. Internal consistency was adequate (Cronbach's alpha = 0.868). The corrected item-total correlations ranged from 0.596 to 0.750 with a mean of 0.693. PCA identified a single factor structure of the WHO-5. The WHO-5 significantly correlated with the PHQ-9 (r = -0.590), ascertaining convergent validity.

The WHO-5 demonstrated satisfactory reliability and validity in our study population. It is therefore a suitable measure for the assessment of the mental well-being of healthcare professionals in our environment.