Cross-national health comparisons using the Rasch model: findings from the 2012 US Health and Retirement Study and the 2012 Mexican Health and Aging Study

Abstract

The Rasch model indicates that Mexican adults were more functional than Americans at the population level and across two chronic conditions (arthritis and lung problems). Future studies would need to elucidate other factors affecting the function differences between the two countries.

Comparisons of the Association of Family and Social Factors With Functional Limitations Across the United States, Mexico, and South Korea: Findings From the HRS Family of Surveys

“…Scale development. Statistical approaches consisted of two phases: (a) testing and creating a common functional limitation measure across the three surveys and (b) comparing the influence of family and social factors on the level of functional limitations across samples by using the common functional limitation measure (ruler) from the first phase (Hong et al, 2018b;Hong et al, 2018c). Figure 1 presents the study 22.9 (2.9) Self-rated health, M (SD)…”

“…In addition, there were considerable ceiling effects (52.4%) due to the relatively easy items compared with mobility/physical function items. Based on previous cross-national studies (Buz & Cortés-Rodríguez, 2016;Cieza et al, 2015;Hong et al, 2018b) and the mathematical relationship with the small number of items and poor precision (Wright & Stone, 1979), the mobility/physical function items seem to be indispensable in precisely estimating the level of functional limitations in cross-national comparison studies.…”

“…The range of the score was 0-8 for ADLs and 0-9 for IADLs. A higher score indicated greater functional capacity (Chien et al, 2013;Hong et al, 2018b;MHAS, 2012).…”

“…The harmonized HRS family of surveys provides researchers and policy makers remarkable opportunities for cross-national examinations. For instance, crossnational studies allow researchers to examine differences and disparities in health care across countries and inform policy makers and clinicians of ways to improve healthy aging for older adults (Hong, Reistetter, Díaz-Venegas, Michaels-Obregon, & Wong, 2018b). In particular, since family and social relationships play a significant role in healthy aging (e.g., physical or financial support), it is critical to understand how family and social factors are associated with health and well-being among older adults.…”

“…While this approach provides an indication of differences between populations, these comparisons have been criticized due to differing measurement scales (Hong, Simpson, Simpson, Brotherton, & Velozo, 2018c). Recently, item response theory 1-parameter Rasch models have been utilized to calibrate national aging studies to accurately compare functional limitations using the same linear interval scale across countries (Buz & Cortés-Rodríguez, 2016;Cieza et al, 2015;Hong, Kim, Sonnenfeld, Grattan, & Reistetter, 2018a;Hong et al, 2018b).…”