title: Confirmation of the validity of the HAQ-DI in two populations living with chronic illnesses.
abstract: The assessment of functional health in chronic illnesses such as HIV/AIDS and rheumatoid arthritis is central to the measurement of health-related quality of life. The purpose of this article is to report the testing and comparison of the measurement structure of the Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index (HAQ-DI), a measure of functional health, in 917 persons living with HIV/AIDS and 901 individuals with rheumatoid arthritis. The samples come from data collected as part of the Arthritis, Rheumatism, and Aging Medical Information System (ARAMIS) and AIDS Time-Oriented Health Outcome Study (ATHOS) projects. Using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), the hypothesized structure represented by a general factor (functional health) and eight measured items was tested separately. Based on the fit indexes, the model fit the ATHOS data (chi2 = 36.933, p < .0117; CFI = 1.000; SRMR = 0.025). After correlating the error terms for two of the measured items, the model also fit the ARAMIS data (chi2 = 302.34, p = .0000; CFI = 0.937; SRMR = 0.041). This analysis provides further support of the construct validity of the HAQ-DI for persons living with HIV/AIDS or rheumatoid arthritis.
authors.affiliation: College of Nursing & Healthcare Innovation, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ 85004-0698, USA. karen.sousa@asu.edu
authors.forename: Karen H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Sousa
authors.forename: Oi-Man
authors.initials: OM
authors.lastname: Kwok
authors.forename: Ehri
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ryu
authors.forename: Susanne W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Cook
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000523:psychology; D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology*; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002908:Chronic Disease; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000523:psychology*; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology*; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009730:Nursing Assessment / Q000379:methods; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D014481:United States