This study evaluated the reliability and validity of the Interest in Health Scale, originally developed for healthy adults, in order to apply it to community-dwelling older people.
This study analyzed data from a self-administered mail survey conducted in January 2024 in Tsuru City, Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. The survey targeted all 7203older people aged 65 and above who were not certified as requiring long-term care. The analysis included 3655 individuals who agreed to participate in the survey and responded completely to the Interest in Health Scale. The interest in health was measured using Ozawa's Interest in Health Scale (12 items, 0–36 points, with higher scores indicating greater interest). To assess reliability, Cronbach's alpha coefficient was calculated. To evaluate construct validity, exploratory factor analysis was conducted. Additionally, confirmatory factor analysis was performed to validate the model. Based on the results of both factor analyses, it was examined whether the factor structure could be maintained when applied to older people.
The participants mean age (Standard deviation, SD) was 74.8 years (6.7). The mean score (SD) of the Interest in Health Scale was 25.8 points (5.6). The Cronbach's alpha coefficient (95% Confidence interval, 95%CI) was 0.80 (0.79, 0.81). Exploratory factor analysis revealed that a 3-factor model was appropriate. Two factors were stable with four items each, and factor loadings were 0.63 or higher. However, one factor had an item with a factor loading of 0.45. In confirmatory factor analysis, the fit indices were generally acceptable (CFI = 0.985, TLI = 0.981, RMSEA = 0.07, SRMR = 0.06).
This study showed that the Interest in Health Scale, consisting of three factors—"health consciousness," "health motivation," and "health value"—and 12 items, has reliability and validity when applied to community-dwelling older people as well as healthy adults. However, one item related to health value showed a low factor loading, indicating the need for further investigation.
The Interest in Health Scale validated in this study serves as a valuable tool for physiotherapy to accurately assess the health interest of older people and to implement more effective long-term care prevention programs tailored to their interest level. Additionally, it enables an objective evaluation of whether a long-term care prevention program was effective for those indifferent to health by stratifying the population. These efforts are expected to contribute to reducing health disparities. Future research is anticipated to continue validating and expanding the applicability of the Interest in Health Scale.
Long-term care prevention
Health disparities
