A general population study of the Chinese Whiteley-7 index in Hong Kong |
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Authors: | Lee Sing Ng King Lam Ma Yee Ling Tsang Adley Kwok Kathleen P S |
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Affiliation: | aDepartment of Psychiatry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China;bDepartment of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA;cHong Kong Mood Disorders Center, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China |
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Abstract: | ObjectiveTo examine the psychometric properties of the Chinese seven-item Whiteley Index (WI-7) in the general population of Hong Kong.MethodsA random community-based telephone survey of 3014 respondents aged 15–65 was conducted using a fully structured questionnaire that included the WI-7, 15-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-15), Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS), and items about the frequency of health service use, perceived helpfulness of doctors, level of satisfaction with doctors, and sociodemographic variables. A sub-sample of 199 respondents was re-interviewed to assess test–retest reliability.ResultsThe WI-7 exhibited satisfactory internal consistency (Cronbach's α=0.73) and stable one-month test-retest reliability. The most commonly endorsed item was “worrying a lot about one's health” (55.7%), followed by “worrying about getting the disease oneself if it is brought to his/her attention” (48.7%) and “bothered by many different pains and aches” (33.9%). Age, gender, and monthly family income significantly predicted WI-7 score. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that a 2-factor structure was superior to a 1-factor structure in fitting the data. WI-7 total score was positively associated with PHQ-15 somatic distress, SDS impairment, number of healthcare visits, lower levels of perceived helpfulness of doctors and of satisfaction with doctors.ConclusionThe Chinese WI-7 exhibits satisfactory reliability and internal validity in a general population. It is a promising tool for the empirical examination of health anxiety which is a common experience with a mostly typical epidemiological profile among Chinese people in Hong Kong. |
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Keywords: | Chinese population Health anxiety Reliability Validity Whiteley Index |
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