Dalarna University's logo and link to the university's website

du.sePublications
Change search
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • chicago-author-date
  • chicago-note-bibliography
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf
Self-rated health – what does it capture at one year after childbirth?: Investigation of a survey question employing thinkaloud interviews
Dalarna University, School of Education, Health and Social Studies, Caring Science/Nursing.ORCID iD: 0000-0003-4123-405X
2009 (English)In: Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, ISSN 0283-9318, E-ISSN 1471-6712, Vol. 23, no 4, p. 711-720Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Aim. This paper reports an investigation of how the survey question ‘How would you summarize your state of health at present’ is interpreted and what it captures when asked at one year after childbirth.

Background. Self-rated health measured by a single item question is a well-established patient outcome since it predicts morbidity and the use of health services. However, there is limited understanding of what the question captures in early motherhood.

Method. A qualitative design combining data collection by means of a short form, concurrent and retrospective thinkaloud interviews, and a semi-structured interview, with 26 Swedish women during 2005 was employed. The text was analysed by qualitative content analysis. A theoretical framework describing four cognitive tasks usually performed when a respondent answers a survey question guided the analysis: interpretation of the question, retrieval of information, forming a judgment and giving a response.

Findings. The questions of self-rated health left open for the new mothers to evaluate what was most important for her. It captured a woman’s total life situation, such as family functioning and wellbeing, relationship with partner, combining motherhood and professional work, energy, physical symptoms and emotional problems affecting daily life, stressful life events, chronic disease with ongoing symptoms, body image, physical exercise and happiness. Neither childbirth-related events nor childbirth-related symptoms were included in the responses. Less than ‘good’ self-rated health represented a high burden of health problems.

Conclusion. Our results showed that the question on self-rated health was a measure of women’s general health and wellbeing in their present life situation, but it did not seem to measure recovery after childbirth specifically.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2009. Vol. 23, no 4, p. 711-720
Keywords [en]
Self-rated health, postpartum, survey question, think-aloud interview
National Category
Health Sciences
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:du-4166DOI: 10.1111/j.1471-6712.2008.00669.xISI: 000271714200013OAI: oai:dalea.du.se:4166DiVA, id: diva2:520089
Available from: 2009-08-25 Created: 2009-08-25 Last updated: 2017-12-07Bibliographically approved

Open Access in DiVA

No full text in DiVA

Other links

Publisher's full text

Authority records

Schytt, Erica

Search in DiVA

By author/editor
Schytt, Erica
By organisation
Caring Science/Nursing
In the same journal
Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences
Health Sciences

Search outside of DiVA

GoogleGoogle Scholar

doi
urn-nbn

Altmetric score

doi
urn-nbn
Total: 558 hits
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • chicago-author-date
  • chicago-note-bibliography
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf