Reliability and Validity of the Health Enhancement Lifestyle Profile (HELP)

Abstract

The Health Enhancement Lifestyle Profile (HELP) is a self-report measure for examining various aspects of health-related lifestyle in older adults through seven scales (Exercise; Diet; Work, Education, and Social Participation; Leisure; Activities of Daily Living; Psychological Wellness and Spiritual Participation; and Other Health Promotion and Risk Behaviors). The current study examined the reliability and validity of the HELP scales through classic test theory. The resultant alpha coefficients ranged from .75 to .92 among the scales, indicating acceptable to good internal consistency reliability. Construct validity was also supported by the interrelationships found among the HELP scales and the statistically significant correlations shown between HELP results and global health status (i.e., number of chronic conditions, self-related health). HELP scales can help occupational therapists identify and monitor health promotion occupations and risk behaviors and measure the outcome of services aimed at promoting healthy lifestyles in older adults.

Keywords

elderly successful aging exercise diet

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Allen

M. J.

, & Yen

W. M.

(2002). Introduction to measurement theory. Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press.

Anastasi

, & Urbina

(1997). Psychological testing (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Borawski

E. A.

Kinney

J. M.

, & Kahana

(1996). The meaning of older adults' health appraisals: Congruence with health status and determinant of mortality. Journals of Gerontology: Series B, Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 51, S157–S170.

Bowling

(2007). Aspirations for older age in the 21st century: What is successful aging. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 64, 263–297.

Bowling

(2008). Enhancing later life: How older people perceive active ageing? Aging & Mental Health, 12, 293–301.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2000). Measuring healthy days: Population assessment of health-related quality of life. Retrieved May 20, 2009, from http://www.cdc.gov/hrqol/publications_chrono.htm#00.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2003). Public health and aging: Trends in aging—United States and worldwide. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 52, 101–104. Retrieved May 20, 2009, from http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5206a2.htm.

Clark

Azen

S. P.

Carlson

Mandel

LaBree

Hay

(2001). Embedding health-promoting changes into the daily lives of independent-living older adults: Long-term follow-up of occupational therapy intervention. Journals of Gerontology: Series B, Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 56, P60–P63.

Clark

Azen

S. P.

Zemke

Jackson

Carlson

Hay

(1997). Occupational therapy for independent-living older adults: A randomized controlled trial. JAMA, 278, 1321–1326.

10.

Cronbach

L. J.

(1951). Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests. Psychometrika, 16, 297–334.

11.

Depp

C. A.

, & Jeste

D. V.

(2006). Definitions and predictors of successful aging: A comprehensive review of larger quantitative studies. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 14, 6–20.

12.

DeSalvo

K. B.

Bloser

Reynolds

, & Muntner

(2006). Mortality prediction with a single general self-rated health question: A meta-analysis. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 21, 267–275.

13.

Everard

K. M.

Lach

H. W.

Fisher

E. B.

, & Baum

M. C.

(2000). Relationship of activity and social support to the functional health of older adults. Journals of Gerontology: Series B, Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 55, S208–S212.

14.

Haug

M. R.

Wykle

M. L.

, & Namazi

K. H.

(1989). Self-care among older adults. Social Science & Medicine, 29, 171–183.

15.

Haveman-Nies

De Groot

L. C.

van Staveren

W. A.

; and the Survey in Europe on Nutrition and the Elderly: A Concerted Action Study. (2003). Relation of dietary quality, physical activity, and smoking habits to 10-year changes in health status in older Europeans in the SENECA study. American Journal of Public Health, 93, 318–323.

16.

Hays

R. D.

, & Morales

L. S.

(2001). The RAND-36 measure of health-related quality of life. Annals of Medicine, 33, 350–357.

17.

Hirdes

J. P.

, & Forbes

W. F.

(1993). Factors associated with the maintenance of good self-rated health. Journal of Aging and Health, 5, 101–122.

18.

Hwang

J. E.

(in review). Promote healthy lifestyles with aging: The development and validation of the Health Enhancement Lifestyle Profile (HELP) via the Rasch Measurement Model. American Journal of Occupational Therapy.

19.

Idler

E. L.

, & Benyamini

(1997). Self-rated health and mortality: A review of twenty-seven community studies. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 38, 21–37.

20.

Koenig

H. G.

George

L. K.

Hays

J. C.

Larson

D. B.

Cohen

H. J.

, & Blazer

D. G.

(1998). The relationship between religious activities and blood pressure in older adults. International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine, 28, 189–213.

21.

Koertge

Weidner

Elliott-Eller

Scherwitz

Merritt-Worden

T. A.

Marlin

(2003). Improvement in medical risk factors and quality of life in women and men with coronary artery disease in the Multicenter Lifestyle Demonstration Project. American Journal of Cardiology, 91, 1316–1322.

22.

Lawler-Row

K. A.

, & Elliott

(2009). The role of religious activity and spirituality in the health and well-being of older adults. Journal of Health Psychology, 14, 43–52.

23.

Lawton

M. P.

Winter

Kleban

M. H.

, & Ruckdeschel

(1999). Affect and quality of life: Objective and subjective. Journal of Aging and Health, 11, 169–198.

24.

Lee

, & Park

(2008). Does physical activity moderate the association between depressive symptoms and disability in older adults? International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 23, 249–256.

25.

Lyons

, & Langille

(2000). Healthy lifestyle: Strengthening the effectiveness of lifestyle approaches to improve health. Retrieved May 28, 2009, from www.ahprc.dal.ca/lifestylefinal.pdf.

26.

Mandel

D. R.

Jackson

J. M.

Zemke

Nelson

, & Clark

F. A.

(1999). Lifestyle redesign: Implementing the well elderly program. Bethesda, MD: American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.

27.

Matthews

D. A.

McCullough

M. E.

Larson

D. B.

Koenig

H. G.

Swyers

J. P.

, & Milano

M. G.

(1998). Religious commitment and health status. Archives of Family Medicine, 7, 118–124.

28.

Phelan

E. A.

Anderson

L. A.

LaCroix

A. Z.

, & Larson

E. B.

(2004). Older adults' views of “successful aging—How do they compare with researchers' definitions? Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 52, 211–216.

29.

Rakowski

, & Mor

(1992). The association of physical activity with mortality among older adults in the Longitudinal Study of Aging (1984–1988). Journal of Gerontology, 47(4), M122–M129.

30.

Roley

S. S.

DeLany

J. V.

Barrows

C. J.

; and the American Occupational Therapy Association Commission on Practice. (2008). Occupational therapy practice framework: Domain and process, 2nd ed. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 62, 625–683.

31.

Rowe

J. W.

, & Kahn

R. L.

(1997). Successful aging. The Gerontologist, 37, 433–440.

32.

Rowe

J. W.

, & Kahn

R. L.

(1998). Successful aging. New York: Pantheon.

33.

Serra-Majem

Roman

, & Estruch

(2006). Scientific evidence of interventions using the Mediterranean diet: A systematic review. Nutrition Reviews, 64, S27–S47.

34.

Sheikh

J. I.

, & Yesavage

J. A.

(1986). Geriatric Depression Scale: Recent evidence and development of a shorter version. Clinical Gerontology, 5, 165–172.

35.

Stefanick

M. L.

MacKey

Sheehan

Ellsworth

Haskell

W. L.

, & Wood

P. D.

(1998). Effects of diet and exercise in men and postmenopausal women with low levels of HDL cholesterol and high levels of LDL cholesterol. New England Journal of Medicine, 339, 12–20.

36.

Thoresen

C. E.

(1999). Spirituality and health: Is there a relationship? Journal of Health Psychology, 4, 291–300.

37.

Toft

Kristoffersen

Ladelund

Ovesen

Lau

Borch-Johnsen

(2008). The impact of a population-based multi-factorial lifestyle intervention on changes in long-term dietary habits: The Inter99 study. Preventive Medicine, 47, 378–383.

38.

Tomita

M. R.

(2006). Methods of analysis: From univariate to multivariate statistics. In Kielhofner

(Ed.), Research in occupational therapy: Methods of inquiry for enhancing practice (pp. 243–280). Philadelphia: F. A. Davis.

39.

Woo

Lynn

Lau

W. Y.

Leung

Lau

Wong

S. Y. S.

(2006). Nutrient intake and psychological health in an elderly Chinese population. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 21, 1036–1043.

40.

World Health Organization. (2004). The World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL)-BREF. Geneva: Author.

41.

Young

Frick

K. D.

, & Phelan

E. A.

(2009). Can successful aging and chronic illness coexist in the same individual? A multidimensional concept of successful aging. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 10, 87–92.