ABSTRACT

Objective : The purposes of this study were to develop a Korean version of the Health Enhancement Lifestyle Profile (K-HELP), to evaluate the overall lifestyles and health behaviors of the elderly, and to verify the reliability of K-HELP. Methods : The original Health Enhancement Lifestyle Profile (HELP) was developed in the U.S.A. by Jengliang Eric Hwang, who is an occupational therapist. To develop K-HELP, a series of steps were taken; First, translation and reverse-translation processes were conducted by an expert committee. To establish the content validity, a modification process was taken for adaptation to the Korean circumstances by health professionals. Second, for a validation of the reliability, the internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the content were measured. Results : The value of the Content Validity Index (CVI) was .97. The CVI was derived from an assessment by nine health care experts, which aimed to determine the suitability of 56 questions. 483 healthy elderly people participated in this reliability study. The value of internal consistency (Cronbach’s α) was .82. In addition, there was a very high and statistically significant test-retest reliability (r=.99)(p<.01). Conclusion : This study proved that K-HELP is a reliable tool to evaluate a senior's lifestyle and health status through the development of K-HELP and a verification of its reliability. Based on this study, K-HELP can be used as a useful assessment tool in the health related field of the elderly by increasing the understanding of the lifestyles, health behaviors, and health levels of the elderly in preventing diseases and providing appropriate rehabilitation programs.