Question Context and Priming Meaning of Health: Effect on Differences in Self-rated Health Between Hispanics and Non-Hispanic Whites

Overview

Journal Am J Public Health

Specialty Public Health

Date 2013 May 18

PMID 23678900

Citations 20

Authors

Sunghee Lee

Norbert Schwarz

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Objectives: We examined the implications of the current recommended data collection practice of placing self-rated health (SRH) before specific health-related questions (hence, without a health context) to remove potential context effects, between Hispanics and non-Hispanics.

Methods: We used 2 methodologically comparable surveys conducted in English and Spanish that asked SRH in different contexts: before and after specific health questions. Focusing on the elderly, we compared the influence of question contexts on SRH between Hispanics and non-Hispanics and between Spanish and English speakers.

Results: The question context influenced SRH reports of Spanish speakers (and Hispanics) significantly but not of English speakers (and non-Hispanics). Specifically, on SRH within a health context, Hispanics reported more positive health, decreasing the gap with non-Hispanic Whites by two thirds, and the measurement utility of SRH was improved through more consistent mortality prediction across ethnic and linguistic groups.

Conclusions: Contrary to the current recommendation, asking SRH within a health context enhanced measurement utility. Studies using SRH may result in erroneous conclusions when one does not consider its question context.

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