Measuring self-reported health in low-income countries: piloting three instruments in semi-rural Burkina Faso

Figures & data

Fig. 1.  Wooden visual analogue scale.

Fig. 2.  Drawn visual analogue scale.

Table 1. Background characteristics in the study sample

Characteristic	Level	Number	Percentage
Sex	Men	27	51.9
	Women	25	48.1
Age (years)	18–29	15	28.9
	30–39	13	25.0
	40–49	11	21.2
	50–59	6	11.5
	60 +	7	13.5
Ethnicity	Dafing	10	19.2
	Bwaba	10	19.2
	Mossi	10	19.2
	Samo	12	23.1
	Peulh	10	19.2
Religion	Muslim	34	65.4
	Catholic	17	32.7
	Other	1	1.9
Marital status	Married	35	67.3
	Single, divorced, or widowed	11	21.2
	Missing	6	11.5
Education	University or secondary	9	17.3
	Primary	9	17.3
	Self-educated	10	19.2
	None	18	34.6
	Missing	6	11.5
Literate (Reading)	Yes	29	55.8
	No	18	34.6
	Missing	5	9.6
Literate (Writing)	Yes	29	55.8
	No	18	34.6
	Missing	5	9.6
Chronic disease* (2008)	No	34	65.4
	Yes	13	25.0
	Missing	5	9.6

*Self-reported information on medically registered chronic conditions was obtained from the 2008 household survey

Table 2. Distribution of answers to the three self-reported health instruments

SRH question		Wooden VAS*		Drawn VAS*
Response alternatives	Number (%)	Number of cubes	Number (%)	Number of cubes	Number (%)
Very bad	0 (0%)	1	0 (0%)	1	0 (0%)
Bad	4 (7.7%)	2	0 (0%)	2	0 (0%)
Fair	16 (30.8%)	3	1 (1.9%)	3	1 (1.9%)
Good	29 (55.8%)	4	2 (3.9%)	4	3 (5.7%)
Very good	3 (5.8%)	5	9 (17.3%)	5	9 (17.3%)
		6	5 (9.6%)	6	3 (5.8%)
		7	6 (11.5%)	7	7 (13.5%)
		8	13 (25.0%)	8	13 (25.0%)
		9	7 (13.5%)	9	9 (17.3%)
		10	9 (17.3%)	10	7 (13.5%)

*Where 1 cube represents the worst imaginable and 10 cubes represent the best imaginable health

Table 3. Interpretation of health ratings

SRH question	Explanation (narratives)	VAS*
Very good	Perfect health	10
	No health problems, no diseases or illnesses
	‘100% health’
	Sometimes ‘insignificant’ illness or discomfort (e.g. cold, headache)
Good	Good health	8–9
	Not perfect health
	‘Perfect health is impossible’
	Minor illness sometimes, not serious
	Can work
	Does not require hospital
Fair	Incomplete health	6–7
	Currently or often ill
	Can work
	Cannot work (but can be treated quickly)
Bad	Health problems	3–5
	Long-standing disease, ‘serious disease’
	Needs hospital care
	Deteriorating health
	Not good health in general, ‘defective health’
Very bad	No responses	–

*Applies to both wooden and drawn visual analogue scale (VAS)

Table 4. Prevalence of poor self-reported health by different self-reported health instruments

Characteristic*	Level	SRH question n (%)	Wooden VAS n (%)	Drawn VAS n (%)
Sex	Men	13 (48.2%)	14 (51.9%)	14 (51.9%)
	Women	7 (28.0%)	9 (36.0%)	9 (36.0%)
Age (years)	18–29	5 (33.3%)	5 (33.3%)	5 (33.3%)
	30–39	4 (30.8%)	4 (30.8%)	4 (30.8%)
	40–49	5 (45.5%)	6 (54.6%)	6 (54.6%)
	50–59	3 (50.0%)	5 (83.3%)	5 (83.3%)
	60 +	3 (42.9%)	3 (42.9%)	3 (42.9%)
Ethnicity	Dafing	4 (40.0%)	3 (30.0%)	3 (30.0%)
	Bwaba	5 (50.0%)	5 (50.0%)	5 (50.0%)
	Mossi	3 (30.0%)	3 (30.0%)	3 (30.0%)
	Samo	3 (25.0%)	7 (58.3%)	7 (58.3%)
	Peulh	5 (50.0%)	5 (50.0%)	5 (50.0%)
Religion	Muslim	12 (35.3%)	15 (44.1%)	15 (44.1%)
	Catholic	7 (41.2%)	7 (41.2%)	7 (41.2%)
	Other	1 (100.0%)	1 (100.0%)	1 (100.0%)
Marital status	Married	13 (40.0%)	14 (40.0%)	14 (40.0%)
	Single, divorced, or widowed	5 (45.5%)	7 (63.6%)	7 (63.6%)
	Missing	2 (33.3%)	2 (33.3%)	2 (33.3%)
Education	University or secondary	5 (55.6%)	6 (66.7%)	6 (66.7%)
	Primary	4 (44.4%)	3 (33.3%)	3 (33.3%)
	Self-educated	5 (50.0%)	4 (40.0%)	4 (40.0%)
	None	4 (22.2%)	8 (44.4%)	8 (44.4%)
	Missing	2 (33.3%)	2 (33.3%)	2 (33.3%)
Literacy (Reading)	Yes	14 (48.3%)	13 (44.8%)	13 (44.8%)
	No	4 (22.2%)	8 (44.4%)	8 (44.4%)
	Missing	2 (40.0%)	2 (40.0%)	2 (40.0%)
Chronic disease** (2008)	No	12 (35.3%)	12 (35.3%)	12 (35.3%)
	Yes	6 (46.2%)	9 (69.2%)	9 (69.2%)
	Missing	2 (40.0%)	2 (40.0%)	2 (40.0%)

*No significant (p<0.05) differences were found

**The self-reported information on medically registered chronic conditions was obtained from the 2008 household survey