Overview

Adapted from the Rand 36-item Health Survey. The RAND-36 is a widely used health-related quality of life survey instrument that assesses eight health concepts: physical functioning, role limitations caused by physical health problems, role limitations caused by emotional problems, social functioning, emotional well-being, energy/fatigue, pain, and general health perceptions. Physical and mental health summary scores are also derived from the eight RAND-36 scales.

Scoring and Interpretation

Responses are re-coded on a 0–5 scale (0 = least healthy to 5 = most healthy). A final score is calculated as the mean of sub-scores.

Citation

Hays, Ron D., Cathy Donald-Sherbourne, and Rebecca M. Mazel. 1993. "The Rand 36‐Item Health Survey 1.0." Health Economics 2, (3): 217-227.

Contexts and Applications to Child Nutrition

Zimbabwe
Matare, Cynthia R., Mduduzi NN Mbuya, Katherine L. Dickin, Mark A. Constas, Gretel Pelto, Bernard Chasekwa, Jean H. Humphrey, et al. 2021. "Maternal Capabilities Are Associated with Child Caregiving Behaviors among Women in Rural Zimbabwe." The Journal of Nutrition, 151(3): 685-694.

Tome, Joice, Mduduzi NN Mbuya, Rachel R. Makasi, Robert Ntozini, Andrew J. Prendergast, Katherine L. Dickin, Gretel H. Pelto et al. 2021. "Maternal Caregiving Capabilities Are Associated with Child Linear Growth in Rural Zimbabwe." Maternal & Child Nutrition 17 (2): e13122.

Adaptations

Rephrased, modified, and dropped items from the Rand 36-Item Health Survey based on context by Matare, etl al. For example, an item assessing one’s perceived ability to walk up a flight of stairs was dropped as it was not relevant to a rural Zimbabwean context.

Formative Research

• Existing literature/theoretical framework
• Cognitive interviews/pilot testing