ESRA 2027 sessions by theme
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Beyond a Single-Item: Measuring Self-Reported and Whole Person Health Across Modes, Countries, and Populations |
| Coordinator 1 | Dr Morgan Earp (US National Center for Health Statistics) |
| Coordinator 2 | Dr Stephen Blumberg (US National Center for Health Statistics) |
| Coordinator 3 | Dr Kristen Cibelli Hibben (US National Center for Health Statistics) |
Session Details
Self-reported health measures, from the widely used single-item rating of health to newer multidimensional instruments, are among the most common indicators in social and health survey research. They underpin national health monitoring, population health disparities research, and cross-national comparisons, yet fundamental questions remain about what these measures truly capture, how comparably they function across demographic groups and countries, and how well parsimonious self-report measures capture the complex and multidimensional nature of health.
Research has shown that the self-rated health item is highly correlated with mortality yet can be sensitive to minor design features, including response option order and orientation, question placement, and survey mode. Respondents across race, ethnicity, age, sex, and education may also draw on different reference points and mental processes when answering it. National statistical agencies have lately been moving toward richer, multidimensional approaches to health measurement: a new whole person health index has recently been fielded on a major U.S. national health survey, while in Europe, harmonized multi-item health modules have long supported comparative health research and official statistics.
This session invites papers examining the measurement, validity, comparability, and use of self-reported health, whole person health, and other closely related measures of health-related quality of life and wellbeing among adults and children in the United States, Europe, and cross-nationally. We welcome work on question wording and response scale design effects; mode effects; measurement equivalence; cognitive processes underlying health self-assessments across populations and the life course; validation of multi-item health indices; and harmonization challenges in comparative surveys. Studies using psychometric analyses, cognitive interviewing, or other innovative methods for questionnaire evaluation are especially encouraged, particularly work bridging self-reported health measures across populations to improve questionnaire design and cross-national comparability.
