Well-being measurement and the WHO health policy Health 2010: systematic review of measurement scales
Authors:
Lindert, J, Bain, Pa, Kubzansky, LD, and Stein, C
Abstract:
BACKGROUND: Subjective well-being (SWB) contributes to health and mental health. It is a major objective of the new World Health Organization health policy framework, 'Health 2020'. Various approaches to defining and measuring well-being exist. We aimed to identify, map and analyse the contents of self-reported well-being measurement scales for use with individuals more than 15 years of age to help researchers and politicians choose appropriate measurement tools.
METHODS: We conducted a systematic literature search in PubMed for studies published between 2007 and 2012, with additional hand-searching, to identify empirical studies that investigated well-being using a measurement scale. For each eligible study, we identified the measurement tool and reviewed its components, number of items, administration time, validity, reliability, responsiveness and sensitivity.
RESULTS: The literature review identified 60 unique measurement scales. Measurement scales were either multidimensional (n = 33) or unidimensional (n = 14) and assessed multiple domains. The most frequently encountered domains were affects (39 scales), social relations (17 scales), life satisfaction (13 scales), physical health (13 scales), meaning/achievement (9 scales) and spirituality (6 scales). The scales included between 1 and 100 items; the administration time varied from 1 to 15 min.
CONCLUSIONS: Well-being is a higher order construct. Measures seldom reported testing for gender or cultural sensitivity. The content and format of scales varied considerably. Effective monitoring and comparison of SWB over time and across geographic regions will require further work to refine definitions of SWB. We recommend concurrent evaluation of at least three self-reported SWB measurement scales, including evaluation for gender or cultural sensitivity
Cognitive/mental functioning Physical functioning Role functioning Social functioning
General health perceptions / HRQoL:
Self-rated health
Overall quality of life:
Overall quality of life
Age:
Adults (18-65) Children (0-18) Seniors (65+)
Disease:
Certain infections and parasitic diseases and related symptoms Codes for special purposes Congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities and related symptoms Diseases of and symptoms related to the blood and blood-forming organs and certain disorders involving the immune mechanism Diseases of and symptoms related to the circulatory system Diseases of and symptoms related to the digestive system Diseases of and symptoms related to the ear and mastoid process Diseases of and symptoms related to the eye and adnexa Diseases of and symptoms related to the genitourinary system Diseases of and symptoms related to the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue Diseases of and symptoms related to the nervous system Diseases of and symptoms related to the respiratory system Diseases of and symptoms related to the skin and subcutaneous tissue Endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases and related symptoms External causes of morbidity and mortality Factors influencing health status and contact with health services Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes Mental and behavioural disorders and related symptoms Neoplasms and related symptoms Pregnancy, childbirth and puerperium and related symptom Symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified
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