Research Article
Rafael Tuesca Molina and Fabia
Abstract
Objective: To estimate the reference values of the questionnaire SF-12 version 2, its validation and subsequent analysis by principal components and to estimate the correlation to the dimensions of quality of life related to health for the adult non-institutionalized population in Barranquilla, Colombia. Study design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Surveys were applied to 1,480 non institutionalized adults aged 20 years and older. The references of central tendency, dispersion and analysis of internal consistency were calculated using Cronbach’s alpha and correlation interclass using principal component analysis. Results: The highest average scores were presented in the domains of pain, 91.8 (± 19.6). Social functioning was second with 90.6 (± 22.2). The lowest scores were mental health with 49.6 (± 12.0) and general health with 59.4 (± 23.5). Males reflected higher scores than women in the dimensions of social function, physical functioning, and physical role. However, mental health in women showed greater punctuation. Cronbach’s Alpha was 0.73, while for the physical role and emotional role it was 0.85. Mental health was the lowest at 0.59. The inter-scale correlation coefficients resulted in ranges from intermediate to low (r=0.74 to -0.14; p=0.00). In the analysis of components, the first component corresponds to the dimensions of pain related to general health, physical functioning, physical role, emotional role and vitality. The second component corresponds to mental health and social functioning. Conclusion: Useful results to adjust health programs focused on gender and assess the extent of health intervention results. The values can be used as normative references for the Caribbean region of Barranquilla, Colombia.