--- title: "Racial variation in self-rated health status. | Sutter Health" description: "To examine the influence of translation when measuring self-rated health, measured across racial/ethnic groups." url: "https://www.sutterhealth.org/research/publications/racial-variation-in-self-rated-health-status-1055312900" --- 1. [Home](https://www.sutterhealth.org/) / 2. [Research](https://www.sutterhealth.org/research) / 3. [Research publications](https://www.sutterhealth.org/research/publications) / 4. Racial variation in self-rated health status. # How good is "very good"? Translation effect in the racial/ethnic variation in self-rated health status. Seo S, Chung S, & Shumway M. _Qual Life Res. 23(2):593-600. doi: 10.1007/s11136-013-0522-6. Epub 2013 Sep 13._ 2014-03-01 ## Abstract PURPOSE: To examine the influence of translation when measuring and comparing self-rated health (SRH) measured with five response categories (excellent, very good, good, fair, and poor), across racial/ethnic groups. METHODS: Using data from the California Health Interview Survey, which were administered in five languages, we analyzed variations in the five-category SRH across five racial/ethnic groups: non-Hispanic white, Latino, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean. Logistic regression was used to estimate independent effects of race/ethnicity, culture, and translation on SRH, after controlling for risk factors and other measures of health status. RESULTS: Latinos, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Koreans were less likely than non-Hispanic whites to rate their health as excellent or very good and more likely to rate it as good, fair, or poor. This racial/ethnic difference diminished when adjusting for acculturation. Independently of race/ethnicity, respondents using non-English surveys were less likely to answer excellent (OR = 0.24-0.55) and very good (OR = 0.30-0.34) and were more likely to answer fair (OR = 2.48-4.10) or poor (OR = 2.87-3.51), even after controlling for other measures of SRH. CONCLUSIONS: Responses to the five-category SRH question depend on interview language. When responding in Spanish, Chinese, Korean, or Vietnamese, respondents are more likely to choose a lower level SRH category, "fair" in particular. If each SRH category measured in different languages is treated as equivalent, racial/ethnic disparities in SRH among Latinos and Asian subgroups, as compared to non-Hispanic whites, may be exaggerated. [PubMed abstract](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24026633) ## Research topics - [Health Disparities](https://www.sutterhealth.org/research-search-results?query=%22%5C%22Health+Disparities%5C%22%22) - [Health Services](https://www.sutterhealth.org/research-search-results?query=%22%5C%22Health+Services%5C%22%22) ## Related publications [View all publications](https://www.sutterhealth.org/research-search-results?verticalKey=research_publication) - Publication ### [Clocks moving at different speeds: cultural variation in the satisfaction with wait time for outpatient care.](https://www.sutterhealth.org/research/publications/cultural-variation-satisfaction-outpt-wait-time-1055312330) Chung S, Johns N, Zhao B, Romanelli R, Pu J, Palaniappan LP, Luft H. 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Health Equity. 3(1):92-98. doi: 10.1089/heq.2018.0092. eCollection 2019. 2019 Apr 03 [View all publications](https://www.sutterhealth.org/research-search-results?verticalKey=research_publication) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"MedicalOrganization","name":"Sutter Health","@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/#medicalorganization","url":"https://www.sutterhealth.org","logo":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/static/images/sutter-health-logo.svg","address":{"@type":"PostalAddress","streetAddress":"2200 River Plaza Drive","addressLocality":"Sacramento","addressRegion":"CA","postalCode":"95833","addressCountry":"US"},"areaServed":{"@type":"AdministrativeArea","name":"California"},"sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/SutterHealth","https://www.instagram.com/sutterhealth/","https://x.com/SutterHealth","https://www.youtube.com/sutterhealth","https://www.linkedin.com/company/sutter-health","https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sutter_Health"]} ``` ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/research/publications/racial-variation-in-self-rated-health-status-1055312900#breadcrumblist","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Research","item":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/research"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Research publications","item":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/research/publications"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Racial variation in self-rated health status."}]} ``` ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"MedicalScholarlyArticle","@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/research/publications/racial-variation-in-self-rated-health-status-1055312900#medicalscholarlyarticle","name":"How good is \"very good\"? Translation effect in the racial/ethnic variation in self-rated health status.","headline":"Racial variation in self-rated health status.","abstract":"PURPOSE: To examine the influence of translation when measuring and comparing self-rated health (SRH) measured with five response categories (excellent, very good, good, fair, and poor), across racial/ethnic groups. METHODS: Using data from the California Health Interview Survey, which were administered in five languages, we analyzed variations in the five-category SRH across five racial/ethnic groups: non-Hispanic white, Latino, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean. Logistic regression was used to estimate independent effects of race/ethnicity, culture, and translation on SRH, after controlling for risk factors and other measures of health status. RESULTS: Latinos, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Koreans were less likely than non-Hispanic whites to rate their health as excellent or very good and more likely to rate it as good, fair, or poor. This racial/ethnic difference diminished when adjusting for acculturation. Independently of race/ethnicity, respondents using non-English surveys were less likely to answer excellent (OR = 0.24-0.55) and very good (OR = 0.30-0.34) and were more likely to answer fair (OR = 2.48-4.10) or poor (OR = 2.87-3.51), even after controlling for other measures of SRH. CONCLUSIONS: Responses to the five-category SRH question depend on interview language. When responding in Spanish, Chinese, Korean, or Vietnamese, respondents are more likely to choose a lower level SRH category, \"fair\" in particular. If each SRH category measured in different languages is treated as equivalent, racial/ethnic disparities in SRH among Latinos and Asian subgroups, as compared to non-Hispanic whites, may be exaggerated.","description":"To examine the influence of translation when measuring self-rated health, measured across racial/ethnic groups.","keywords":["Health Disparities","Health Services"],"datePublished":"2014-03-01","url":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/research/publications/racial-variation-in-self-rated-health-status-1055312900","inLanguage":"en-US","identifier":[{"@type":"PropertyValue","propertyID":"PMID","value":"24026633"},{"@type":"PropertyValue","propertyID":"DOI","value":"10.1007/s11136-013-0522-6"}],"sameAs":["https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24026633/","https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-013-0522-6"],"isPartOf":{"@type":"Periodical","name":"Qual Life Res"},"author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Seo S"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Chung S"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Shumway M"}],"sourceOrganization":{"@type":"MedicalOrganization","name":"Palo Alto Medical Foundation Research Institute"},"about":[{"@type":"DefinedTerm","name":"Health Disparities","url":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/research-search-results?facets=%5B%7B%22i%22%3A%22c_researchTopics.name%22%2C%22v%22%3A%5B%22Health+Disparities%22%5D%7D%5D&verticalKey=research_publication"},{"@type":"DefinedTerm","name":"Health Services","url":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/research-search-results?facets=%5B%7B%22i%22%3A%22c_researchTopics.name%22%2C%22v%22%3A%5B%22Health+Services%22%5D%7D%5D&verticalKey=research_publication"}],"mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/research/publications/racial-variation-in-self-rated-health-status-1055312900","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/research/publications/racial-variation-in-self-rated-health-status-1055312900#breadcrumblist"}}} ```