Development and quality analysis of the Salutogenic Health Indicator Scale (SHIS)

Background: Current health measurement instruments tend to measureaspects of ill-health rather than health in general. There isa need for a salutogenic perspective when describing healthand developing a health measurement instrument. The aim of thisarticle is to present the development process and quality assessmentof a salutogenic health indicator scale. Methods: A descriptionof health, emanating from the concept of health, positive healthand well-being, was used as a basis for the construction ofthe scale. The scale is a semantic differential consisting of12 indicator items covering nine heath-related dimensions. Aprincipal component analysis was performed, and three healthindicator indexes were constructed. Correlation with self-ratedhealth questions was investigated, weighted kappa values werecalculated, and Cronbach's alpha (CA) was used to check internalconsistency. Results: The analysis resulted in a two-factormodel, and the indexes were named intrapersonal characteristics(CA= 0.90) and interactive function (CA= 0.84), summarised intohealth complete (CA= 0.92). Kappa values ranged from 0.44 to0.67, and correlations with self-rated health status were strongerthan those with self-rated sick-leave. Conclusions: Our healthdescription was characterized by complexity, but the instrumentis a short salutogenic health indicator scale. The shortnessincreases the usability. The instrument seems to be able tooffset the current problem of there being a lack of salutogenichealth measurement instruments. The results indicate that furthertesting is justified.