In order to assess the utility of a health diary as a means for obtaining valid data about symptoms, the data obtained from 96 women's responses in family health diaries were compared with CMI-MR scores and self health ratings obtained from women during an interview. The symptoms reported in the diary were only weakly correlated with CMI-MR scores and poorly correlated with self-perceived health. Despite only meager support for the validity of specific kinds of symptoms reported in the diary, the advantages of this method warrant its further exploration use in nursing research.
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