A spiritually-based measure of holistic health for those with disabilities: Development, preliminary reliability and validity assessment

Abstract

Purpose. To develop and test a spiritually-based measure of holistic health for those with chronic physical conditions.

Method. Two studies are reported. Study One used 69 ex-patients with chronic physical conditions to develop a spiritually-based holistic measure of health. An open-ended questionnaire, the Participant Health Questionnaire used the echo technique to obtain statements about the nature of health. These were assembled to form the Rating of Health Statements Questionnaire, which was completed by 59 participants. Reliability and validity analysis yielded a 38-item Health Attitude Scale, the HAS:1, to which the responses of 48 participants produced the 40-item HAS:2, which included an Intent subscale. Wording the HAS:2 in the past tense then created a behavioural measure, the QE Health Scale (QEHS). Study Two used 233 participants from the same population with chronic conditions to assess the reliability of the HAS:2 and QEHS, and their validity against the STAI and the SOC-13.

Results. The QEHS proved reliable (Cronbach's alpha = 0.92) and valid in that it correlated with the SOC-13 (r = 0.32, p < 0.01), the STAI (State) (r = 0. – 39, p < 0.01), the STAI (Trait) (r = 0.35, p < 0.01), the HAS:2 (Importance) (r = 0.61, p < 0.01) and the HAS:2 (Intent) (r = 0.61, p < 0.01).

Conclusion. The QEHS possessed sufficient reliability and validity as a spiritually-based holistic measure of health to warrant further investigation.

Keywords:

• Spiritually-based holistic measure of health
• chronic physical conditions
• Health Change Process Theory