The development and testing of a questionnaire to quantify the severity of the subjective symptomatology of acute high altitude sickness is described. Using procedures developed to test the effects of psychotropic drugs, a 26-item questionnaire was produced which was shown to be reliable and to reflect both symptom severity as a function of different simulated altitudes and the length of time of exposure to those altitudes. Development of such a scale will allow comparison of ameliorative measures for acute high altitude sickness and correlation of symptoms of the disorder with physiological changes induced by high altitude.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BeecherH. K.Measurement of subjective responses: quantitative effects of drugs. New York: Oxford Univer. Press, 1959.
2.
EvansW. O.HansenJ. E.Troop perfomance at high altitude. Army, 1966, Feb., 54–58.
3.
HaertzenC. A.HillH. E.BellevilleR. E.Development of the Addiction Research Center Inventory (ARCI): selection of items that are sensitive to the effects of various drugs. Psychopharmacol. (Berl.), 1963, 4, 155–166.
4.
KendallM. G.Rank correlation methods. New York: Hafner, 1955.
5.
McFarlandR. A.Psycho-physiological studies at high altitude: I. The effects of rapid ascents by aeroplane and train. J. comp. physiol. Psychol., 1937, 23, 191–225.
