Conceptualization and Measurement of Health for Adults in the Health Insurance Study

The fifth volume in a series reviewing published literature and documenting conceptualization and construction of health status measures used in the Health Insurance Study (HIS). Analyses reported are based on non-HIS sources; plans for analyzing HIS data from the Health Perceptions Questionnaire (HPQ) are documented. The HPQ contains six summated ratings scales reflecting perceptions of current, past, and future health, resistance-susceptibility, sickness orientation, and health worry/concern. These measures appear sufficiently reliable and valid for testing hypotheses on effects of differences in coinsurance and deductibles and fee-for-service compared with group practice and of differences in use of medical care services on health status in general populations.