The development of the social health scale for the elderly

BACKGROUND: With the elderly population comprising an increasing large proportion of society, a valid and reliable measure of social health in the elderly is indispensable for a comprehensive health assessment. The objective of this study is to develop a Social Health Scale for the Elderly (SHSE). METHODS: A draft scale was generated based on a literature review and expert surveys. Pilot testing was conducted from December 14, 2015, to January 8, 2016. Some items were removed after assessment with five statistical analysis methods. Field testing began on November 6, 2016, and ended on January 20, 2017. After field testing, the reliability and validity of the scale were assessed and the norms in Hangzhou were calculated. RESULTS: In the two tests, 430 and 2404 subjects were included in the statistical analyses. The long form of the SHSE (SHSE-L) contained 25 items, 14 of which were also in the short form (SHSE-S). The internal consistency of the SHSE-L was acceptable. The test-rest reliability and inter-rater reliability were moderate, but the concurrent validity, construct validity, and convergent and discriminant validity were desirable in both versions. The standard and percentile rank norms in Hangzhou, China were developed based on the field testing data. CONCLUSIONS: The population-based social health of the Chinese elderly can be validly and reliably assessed with the SHSE. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12955-018-0899-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.