Validation of the medical outcomes study HIV (MOS-HIV) health survey among HIV-infected patients in Taiwan

To examine both the reliability and the validity of the ‘Medical Outcomes Study HIV’ (MOS-HIV) health survey among HIV-infected patients in Taiwan.

Data were collected from 619 HIV-infected outpatients, with the reliability and the validity of the MOS-HIV survey subsequently being examined by multi-trait scaling techniques, internal consistency, convergent validity, known-group validity and factorial validity.

The MOS-HIV health survey was found to have excellent success rates in the item-consistency and discriminant-validity tests, as well as good convergent validity and known-group validity. An acceptable fit was found for three of the four indices in the original two-factor model (non-normed fit index = 0.92, comparative fit index = 0.94 and standardized root mean squared residual = 0.056).

The findings of the present study provide strong evidence in support of the reliability and validity of the MOS-HIV health survey for the assessment of quality of life among HIV-infected patients in Taiwan. We find that the original factor structure of the MOS-HIV survey remains valid for patients from Chinese cultural backgrounds. This study therefore contributes to the existing evidence within the extant literature on the cultural relevance of the MOS-HIV health survey (a measure originally developed within a Western culture) as a valid measure for cross-cultural comparative studies on health-related quality of life.