Reliability and Validity of the SF-36 Among Older Mexican Americans

Purpose: The Medical Outcomes Study (MOS) 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) has been validated in many diverse samples. This measure of health-related quality of life, however, has not yet been examined among older Mexican Americans, a rapidly growing subset of the older population. Design an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Gerontologist 2004-06, Vol.44 (3), p.418-425
Main Authors: Peek, M. Kristen, Ray, Laura, Patel, Kushang, Stoebner-May, Diane, Ottenbacher, Kenneth J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
Construct Validity
Factor Analysis
Factor Analysis, Statistical
Female
Gerontology
Health
Health Surveys
Health-related quality of life
Hispanic Americans
Humans
Male
Mexican Americans
Mexican Americans - statistics & numerical data
Mexicans
Mexico - ethnology
Older Mexican Americans
Older people
Physical Health
Polls & surveys
Quality of Life
Reproducibility of Results
Southwestern United States
Structural Equation Models
Surveys and Questionnaires
Validity
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Summary:Purpose: The Medical Outcomes Study (MOS) 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) has been validated in many diverse samples. This measure of health-related quality of life, however, has not yet been examined among older Mexican Americans, a rapidly growing subset of the older population. Design and Methods: We address the validity of the SF-36 in a sample of older Mexican Americans (N = 621) selected from the Hispanic Established Populations for Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly. Using confirmatory factor analysis through structural equation modeling, we evaluate the construct validity of this scale. Results: The results indicate evidence for a model with eight first-order factors consistent with previous research on the SF-36 and two second-order factors representing mental and physical health. Implications: This, in addition to other evidence given here, leads us to the conclusion that the SF-36 is a valid measure of health-related quality of life in this sample of older Mexican Americans.
ISSN:0016-9013
1758-5341
DOI:10.1093/geront/44.3.418