Norm-based comparison of SF -12 physical and mental health scale scores for a sample of employees of Broward County

In the new health paradigm, the connotation of health has extended beyond the measures of morbidity and mortality to include wellness and quality of life. Comprehensive assessments of health go beyond traditional biological indicators to include measures of physical and mental health status, social role-functioning, and general health perceptions. To meet these challenges, tools for assessment and outcome evaluation are being designed to collect information about functioning and well-being from the individual's point of view.^ The purpose of this study was to profile the physical and mental health status of a sample of county government employees against U.S. population norms. A second purpose of the study was to determine if significant relationships existed between respondent characteristics and personal health practices, lifestyle and other health how the tools and methods used in this investigation can be used to guide program development and facilitate monitoring of health promotion initiatives.^ The SF-12 Health Survey (Ware, Kosinski, & Keller, 1995), a validated measure of health status, was administered to a convenience sample of 450 employees attending one of nine health fairs at an urban worksite. The instrument has been utilized nationally which enabled a comparative analysis of findings of this study with national results.^ Results from this study demonstrated that several respondent characteristics and personal health practices were associated with a greater percentage of physical and/or mental scale scores that were significantly "worse" or significantly "better" than the general population. Respondent characteristics that were significantly related to the SF-12 physical and/or mental health scale scores were gender, age, education, ethnicity, and income status. Personal health practices that were significantly related to SF-12 physical and/or mental scale scores were frequency of vigorous exercise, presence of chronic illness, being at one's prescribed height and weight, eating breakfast, smoking and drinking status. This study provides an illustration of the methods used to analyze and interpret SF-12 Health Survey data, using norm-based interpretation guidelines which are useful for purposes of program development and collecting information on health at the community level. ^

Relation of health related hardiness to health perception and psychosocial adaptation in adult hispanics with chronic hepatitis C

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of hardiness in health perception and psychosocial adaptation in adult hispanics with chronic hepatitis C (n = 32). The Health Related Hardiness Scale and the Psychosocial Adaptation to Illness Scale were administered to 32 adult hispanics diagnosed with chronic heptitis C at a gastroenterology center. The results indicate that a comparison of subjects with low and high hardiness scores did not reveal significant differences on any of the PAIS domains (health care orientation, sexual relationships, psychological distress, vocational, domestic and social environments). Furthermore, hardiness subscales of control and committment did not have any influence on patient's psychosocial adaptation nor in its domains. However, a comparison of subjects with low and high challenge scores indicates that those with low challenge had lower total psychosocial adaptation scores (M = 5.55, SD = 2.13) than subjects with high challenge scores (M = 4.24, SD = .67) ,t = (1, 30) = 2.34, p < 0.05. Differences were also found for the domains of health care orientation, psychological distress, social and vocational environment. Lastly, there were significant differences on perceived health rating (poor, fair, and good) for the total hardiness score (F = (2,29) =5.49, p < 0.05), control (F =(2,29) = 4.09, p < 0.05), committment (F=(2,29) = 3.76, p < 0.05) and challenge (F=(2,29)= 4.92, p < 0.05). Thus, those patients who rated their health as poor had lower hardiness levels. Findings have implications for promoting hardiness for better health perception and in certain aspects of psychosocial adaptations in adult hispanics with chronic hepatitis C.