Development and validation of a 15-item lifestyle screening for community-dwelling older adults

Abstract

The Health Enhancement Lifestyle Profile-Screener (HELP-Screener) is a 15-item self-report questionnaire conceptually excerpted from the original 56-item HELP. This article describes the development and validation of the HELP-Screener with a sample of 483 community-dwelling older adults. Data derived from the sample were first analyzed using the Rasch dichotomous model. Unidimensionality and data-model fit of the HELP-Screener were largely supported by the analyses of principal components of residuals, fit statistics, local dependency, differential item functioning, and item hierarchy. To delineate the clinical significance of the test results, the cutoff score for the HELP-Screener was established through the mean and standard deviation generated from the study sample. The HELP-Screener can serve as a time-efficient screening for identifying older adults who may require a comprehensive evaluation through HELP and, as a result, who may benefit from a lifestyle intervention. Of note, more studies are planned to further corroborate psychometric properties of this new instrument.