Section outline

  • Lecture:  Measurement

    Focus on research to develop and validate measure in diverse populations, as well as understand heterogeneity in scale response by sociodemographic characteristics and implications of failing to consider these factors.

    Faculty:  Christine Dehlendorf/Kelsey Holt

    Location:       Mission Hall 1406

    • Session Audio/Video Recording (Access restricted to registered students):

    • Watch URL
      Not available unless: You belong to a group in Registered Students Only

    • Required Reading:

    • Ram-rez et al-2005-Health Services Research File
      Not available unless: Your ID number contains 02
    • Stewart1 measurement File
      Not available unless: Your ID number contains 02
    • Stewart et al-2007-Health Services Research File
      Not available unless: Your ID number contains 02
    • McMahon measurement File
      Not available unless: Your ID number contains 02

    • Resources:


    • Assignment: Please consider these questions below when reading each article. If you are unable to attend the class session, please post answers to these questions to the forum by midnight on May 2.

      1.    Ramírez M, Ford ME, Stewart AL, A Teresi J. Measurement issues in health disparities research. Health Services Research. 2005 Oct 1;40(5p2):1640-57.

      a.    What are some reasons that biased estimates of self-reported health status can result among different populations?

      b.    What are differing explanations for heterogeneity in scale response by sociodemographic characteristics?

      c.    What are the implications of failing to consider differential functioning of a measurement tool among different groups?

      2.    Stewart AL, Nápoles-Springer AM. Advancing health disparities research: can we afford to ignore measurement issues?. Medical care. 2003 Nov 1;41(11):1207-20.

      a.    What are some of the psychometric and conceptual challenges related to health disparities research discussed by authors?

      b.    Building on prior class sessions’ discussions, what are the different ways in which self-reported race/ethnicity can be used and interpreted in health disparities research?

      c.    What did you think of the future research agenda laid out by the authors?

      3.    McMahon JM, Volpe EM, Klostermann K, Trabold N, Xue Y. A systematic review of the psychometric properties of the sexual relationship power scale in HIV/AIDS research. Archives of sexual behavior. 2015 Feb 1;44(2):267-94.

      *Note – this paper includes a lot of detail on the adaptation of this scale for different settings; no need to get lost in the weeds on the methodology – it is meant to be illustrative of the broad concept of how a measure can be adapted.

      a.    Briefly describe how the SRPS was initially developed – what did they do to “validate” it?

      b.    What questions or critiques do you have about the adaptation of this measure across the studies reviewed here?

      c.    Using the SRPS as an example, describe in plain English what it means to say a scale is “valid” versus what it means to say it is “reliable.”

      4.    Stewart AL, Nápoles‐Springer AM, Gregorich SE, Santoyo‐Olsson J. Interpersonal processes of care survey: Patient‐reported measures for diverse groups. Health services research. 2007 Jun 1;42(3p1):1235-56.

      a.    Briefly describe how the IPC scale was initially developed – what did they do to “validate” it?

      b.    In what way did the initial development of the IPC scale differ from initial development of the SRPS scale in terms of how applicability to diverse populations was considered from the beginning?

      c.    What questions or critiques do you have about the development of this measure?