Psychometric properties of the Persian version of Whiteley Index

Background — Health anexity affects the doctor–patient relationship and also causes unnecessary further procedures. Therefore, early diagnosis of it with a valid instrument is very important. Objectives — The aim of this study was to evaluate psychometric properties of the Persian version of 14-item Whiteley Index. Material and Methods — This research was a cross sectional study carried out in the medical school of Kerman University of Medical Sciences. Our statistical population included all medical students who were studying in clerkship and internship in 2016. Data collected by using the Persian version of 14-item Whiteley Index and general health questionnaire. The reliability of the questionnaire determined using Cronbach's alpha and test-retest. The construct validity evaluated by principal component analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. Results — Three hundred and ten medical students participated. The reliability of Whiteley Index was 0.88 and 0.82 using Cronbach's alpha and intra class correlation coefficients. In the principal component analysis, two factors were extracted with the total amount of 50.4% explained variance. In confirmatory factor analysis the models had acceptable goodness of fit indices. Conclusion — Persian version of 14-item Whiteley Index can be used as a reliable and valid instrument for assessing Health anexity among Iranian young population.