An investigation of nonresponse to self-assessment of health by older persons. Associations with mortality.
This study examined the association between mortality and nonresponse to questions about health status (both refusals and "don't know" responses) using a national sample of persons aged 70 and over. Data were drawn from the 1984-1990 Longitudinal Study of Aging. Three time points of vital status were used as the outcome indicators (1984-1986, 1984-1988, 1984-1990). Five self-assessment questions were examined; three of the five questions had bivariate odds ratios that indicated significant associations between a nonresponse and all three mortality indexes. Results of the study suggest that nonresponses by older persons can convey meaningful information. Research on self-assessments of health in later life should not routinely exclude nonresponses as missing data, even if they are an infrequent response.
Rakowski
W
W
Department of Community Health, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912.
Mor
V
V
Hiris
J
J
D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009026:Mortality; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010358:Patient Participation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012647:Self-Assessment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology