Public Health · 2 h ago
Five-item health belief scale evaluated in Japanese adults
An online survey of 408 Japanese adults evaluated a Japanese Irrational Health Belief Scale and developed a five-item version. Both versions showed acceptable internal consistency; higher scores were associated with lower health literacy and less favorable health behaviors.
- Online survey included 408 Japanese adults aged 20–69 years.
- Five-item scale showed acceptable internal consistency, with Cronbach’s alpha of 0.78.
- Full and brief scale scores correlated strongly (r = 0.90).
- Higher scores were associated with less favorable health behaviors.
Accurate health information does not always translate into appropriate health decisions, prompting interest in tools that assess beliefs influencing its interpretation. A study in BMC Public Health evaluated a Japanese version of the Irrational Health Belief Scale (IHBS) in an online survey of 408 adults aged 20–69 years. Participants completed the scale alongside measures of health literacy, health locus of control, and health behaviors. Researchers examined factor structure, internal consistency, and associations with these measures, and developed a brief version.
Exploratory factor analysis supported a largely unidimensional structure, while confirmatory analysis of the 20-item scale showed generally acceptable fit for a one-factor model. Cronbach’s alpha was 0.91 for the full scale and 0.78 for the five-item version; scores on the two versions correlated strongly (r = 0.90). Higher irrational health belief scores were associated with lower health literacy, weaker beliefs in personal control over health, stronger beliefs in chance determining health, and less favorable health behaviors.
The brief scale may help researchers examine barriers to effective health communication. However, these survey associations do not establish that irrational beliefs cause poorer health behaviors or that changing them improves outcomes. Applicability beyond the surveyed Japanese adult population and usefulness for routine clinical decision-making remain unestablished by the reported findings.
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BMC Public Health: Irrational health beliefs as barriers to health behaviors: development and validation of a brief scale in a Japanese population ↗This is an automated AI-condensed summary that has not yet been reviewed by an editor. Always consult the full item at the original source.