Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32436111›Full record

ArticleQuality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation2020

Does the single-item self-rated health measure the same thing across different wordings? Construct validity study.

Stéphane Cullati, Naike Bochatay, Clémentine Rossier, Idris Guessous, Claudine Burton-Jeangros, Delphine S Courvoisier

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 44 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
44citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

44 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Trial
  2. Article
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  5. How does social capital shape trajectories of adolescent self-rated health in the United Kingdom?Journal of research on adolescence : the official journal of the Society for Research on Adolescence · 2026
    Article
  6. Observational
  7. Article
  8. Why Most Australians Consider It Valuable to Find Harmless Abnormalities with Diagnostic Tests: A Mixed-Methods Study.Medical decision making : an international journal of the Society for Medical Decision Making · 2026
    Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
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  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Review
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Association between phase angle and self-rated health among Korean adults: a cross-sectional analysis from the 2022-2023 KNHANES.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Stéphane CullatiPopulation Health Laboratory, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland. stephane.cullati@unifr.ch.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3881-446X
Naike BochatayInstitute of Sociological Research, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
Clémentine RossierInstitute of Demography and Socioeconomics, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
Idris GuessousDivision of Primary Care Medicine, Department of Primary Care Medicine, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland.
Claudine Burton-JeangrosInstitute of Sociological Research, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
Delphine S CourvoisierDepartment of Readaptation and Geriatrics, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.

Funding

Swiss Cancer League KLS-3144-02-2013
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeThe self-rated health (SRH) item is frequently used in health surveys but variations of its form (wording, response options) may hinder comparisons between versions over time or across surveys. The objectives were to determine (a) whether three SRH forms are equivalent, (b) the form with the best construct validity and (c) the best coding scheme to maximize equivalence across forms.

methodsWe used data from 58,023 respondents of the Swiss Health Survey. Three SRH forms were used. Response options varied across forms and we explored four coding schemes (two considering SRH as continuous, two as dichotomous). Construct validity of the SRH was assessed using 34 health predictors to estimate the explained variance.

resultsDistributions of response options were similar across SRH forms, except for the "good" and "very good" options ("good" in form 1: 58.6%, form 2: 65.0% and form 3: 44.1%). Explained variances differed across SRH forms, with form 3 providing the best overall explained variance, regardless of coding schemes. The linear coding scheme maximised the equivalence across SRH forms.

conclusionThe three SRH forms were not equivalent in terms of construct validity. Studies examining the evolution of SRH over time with surveys using different forms should use the linear coding scheme to maximise equivalence between SRH forms.

Indexed as

FemaleHealth SurveysHumansMaleMiddle AgedQuality of LifeReproducibility of ResultsConstruct validityPopulation health measurementQuestions wordingResponse optionsSelf-rated health

Identifiers

PMID32436111
PMCPMC7434800

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.