New English and Spanish social health measures will facilitate evaluating health determinants.

Abstract

Objective To develop psychometrically sound, culturally relevant and linguistically equivalent English and Spanish self-report measures of social health guided by a comprehensive conceptual model and applicable across chronic illnesses. Methods The Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Social Health Workgroup implemented a mixed methods approach to evaluate earlier results (v1.0); expand and refine domain definitions and items; translate items into Spanish; and obtain qualitative feedback. Computer-based and paper/pencil questionnaire administration was conducted with a variety of U.S. respondent samples during 2009–2012. Analyses included exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), two-parameter logistic item response theory (IRT) modeling, evaluation of differential item functioning (DIF), and evaluation of criterion and construct validity. Results Qualitative feedback supported the conceptualization of the Social Health domain framework (Social Function and Social Relationships sub-components). Validation testing participants (n=2,208 English; n=644 Spanish) were diverse in terms of gender, age, education and ethnicity/race. EFA, CFA and IRT identified seven unidimensional factors with good model fit. There was no DIF by language, and good evidence of criterion and construct validity. Conclusions PROMIS English and Spanish language instruments (v2.0), including computer-adaptive tests and fixed-length short forms, are publicly available for assessment of Social Function (Ability to Participate in Social Roles and Activities, and Satisfaction with Social Roles and Activities) and Social Relationships (Companionship; Emotional, Informational and Instrumental Support; and Social Isolation). Measures of social health will play a key role in applications that use ecologic (or determinants of health) models that emphasize how patients’ social environments influence their health.

Health-Related Quality of Life in Caregivers of Individuals With Traumatic Brain Injury: Development of a Conceptual Model

“…As such, future validation work should target the HRQOL subdomains that were identified most frequently. Social health concerns were the most frequent topics of discussion and it will be useful to conduct validation work with the PROMIS Social Health item banks (Ability to Participate in Social Roles and Activities, Satisfaction with Social Roles and Activities, Companionship, Emotional Support, Informational Support, Instrumental Support, and Social Isolation) 60 to evaluate how well they capture caregiver concerns. Emotional health concerns were frequently discussed so validation work on PROMIS Depression, Anxiety, and Anger is also warranted.…”

How should we screen for depression following a natural disaster? An ROC approach to post-disaster screening in adolescents and adults

“…Thus, social support may serve as a useful, less-sensitive proxy for depression that can allow non-traditional health providers to facilitate the screening and triaging process. Current efforts to standardize social health questionnaires across health settings (Hahn et al, 2014) may help future studies to establish EBA-based cutoffs that can be equally easy to interpret and translate across disaster settings.…”

Social Media Use and Perceived Emotional Support Among US Young Adults

“…PROMIS is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Roadmap initiative aiming to provide precise, reliable, valid, and standardized questionnaires measuring patient–reported outcomes across the domains of physical, mental, and social health [34–36]. The PROMIS emotional support item bank specifically aims to assess perceived feelings of being cared for and valued as a person [37].…”