title: Validity of the US Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System's health related quality of life survey tool in a group of older Canadians.
abstract: Investigators at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the US have developed a brief survey tool to measure health-related quality of life (HRQOL-4). In order to support use of such tools in surveillance, it is important to assess their validity in different groups. Subjects were 926 non-institutionalized men and women (age > or = 65 years) who completed a health exam and questionnaire. Results indicated that physical and mental health and physical activity limitation were each related to self-perceived health. Compared with subjects who reported excellent health, those with poor self-rated health reported a more than 17-fold increase in the number of unhealthy days in the previous 30. While responses to questions addressing psychosocial factors were most consistently associated with the HRQOL item relating to mental health, responses to health and health behaviour questions were more consistently associated with items related to physical health. This study demonstrated that the HRQOL-4 is not only accepted by older adults in a self-administered format, but also stands up to tests of its validity.
authors.affiliation: Population Health Section, Hamilton General Hospital, McMaster Clinic and Department of Medicine, Mcmaster University, 237 Barton Street East, Hamilton, Ontario L8L 2X2. Stephani@ccc.mcmaster.ca
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ounpuu
authors.forename: L W
authors.initials: LW
authors.lastname: Chambers
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yusuf
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D002487:Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S.; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006304:Health Status; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D011159:Population Surveillance / Q000379:methods*; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D014481:United States