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Related Experiment Videos

What do global self-rated health items measure?

N M Krause1, G M Jay

  • 1School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor 48109-2029.

Medical Care
|September 1, 1994
PubMed
Summary

Self-rated health measures are widely used but interpreted differently. This study found that people use varied frames of reference, like health problems, functioning, or behaviors, to rate their overall health.

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Area of Science:

  • Health Services Research
  • Sociology of Health and Illness
  • Gerontology

Background:

  • Self-rated health (SRH) is a common metric for assessing population health status.
  • SRH is frequently measured using a single-item question about overall health.
  • Understanding the conceptual domain of SRH is crucial for accurate interpretation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify the conceptual domain assessed by the single-item SRH measure.
  • To explore the different frames of reference respondents use when answering the SRH question.
  • To examine how these frames of reference vary across demographic groups.

Main Methods:

  • Conducted 158 in-depth interviews with study participants.
  • Qualitative analysis of interview data to identify common themes and referents.
  • Explored variations in referents based on age, education, and race.

Main Results:

  • Respondents utilize diverse frames of reference for SRH, including specific health problems, general physical functioning, and health behaviors.
  • The specific referents used in SRH ratings vary significantly by age.
  • Preliminary findings indicate potential variations in referents by education and race.
  • Certain referents may not correlate predictably with closed-ended SRH ratings.

Conclusions:

  • The single-item SRH measure assesses heterogeneous conceptual domains, not a uniform construct.
  • Variations in frames of reference, particularly by age, complicate direct comparisons of SRH across populations.
  • Further research is needed to understand the implications of these varied referents for health research and policy.

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