Test-retest reliability of health behavior items in the Community Health Survey in South Korea.
OBJECTIVE
Responses to health-related items on the Community Health Survey (CHS) provide evidence that is used to develop community-based health policy. This study aimed to assess the test-retest reliability of selected health behavioral items on the CHS according to item category, response period, and response scale.


METHODS
A sample of 159 men and women 20 to 69 years of age participated in a test-retest with an interval of 14 to 21 days. A total of 28 items relating to smoking, alcohol consumption, diet and weight control, and mental health were selected. We evaluated the test-retest reliability of the items using kappa statistics.


RESULTS
Kappa values ranged from 0.44 to 0.93. Items concerning habits had higher kappa values (mean, 0.7; standard error, 0.05) than items concerning awareness or attitudes (p=0.012). The kappa value of items with two- to four-point scales was 0.63, which was higher than the value of 0.59 for items with scales involving five or more points, although this difference was not statistically significant. Different kappa values were observed for each reference period, but no statistically significant differences were noted.


CONCLUSIONS
The test-retest reliability of the CHS items that we studied was associated with item category. Further study of the relationship between item category and reliability in domains other than health behaviors is required.
Department of Health Administration, Division of Health Sciences, Dongseo Univeresity, Busan, Korea.|Center for Radiological Environment and Health Science, Dongseo University, Busan, Korea.
Soo Jeong
SJ
Kim
Department of Preventive Medicine, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Korea.
Jin A
JA
Han
Gyeonggi Center for Hypertension and Diabetes, Suwon, Korea.
Young Hwa
YH
Kim
Gyeonggi Center for Hypertension and Diabetes, Suwon, Korea.|Department of Preventive Medicine, Hanyang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Bo Youl
BY
Choi
Department of Preventive Medicine, Jeju National University School of Medicine, Jeju-si, Korea.
Su Young
SY
Kim
Department of Preventive Medicine, Inha University School of Medicine, Incheon-si, Korea.
Hun Je
HJ
Lee
Department of Preventive Medicine, Kyung Hee University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
In Hwan
IH
Oh
Graduate School of Public Health and Institute of Health and Environment, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.
Sung-Il
SI
Cho
Department of Preventive Medicine, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Korea.|Gyeonggi Center for Hypertension and Diabetes, Suwon, Korea.
Jakyoung
J
Lee
Department of Preventive Medicine, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Korea.|Gyeonggi Center for Hypertension and Diabetes, Suwon, Korea.
Soon Young
SY
Lee
Health behavior; Health surveys; Kappa; Reliability