Rasch Models in Health

Book excerpt: The family of statistical models known as Rasch models started with a simple model for responses to questions in educational tests presented together with a number of related models that the Danish mathematician Georg Rasch referred to as models for measurement. Since the beginning of the 1950s the use of Rasch models has grown and has spread from education to the measurement of health status. This book contains a comprehensive overview of the statistical theory of Rasch models. Part 1 contains the probabilistic definition of Rasch models, Part 2 describes the estimation of item and person parameters, Part 3 concerns the assessment of the data-model fit of Rasch models, Part 4 contains applications of Rasch models, Part 5 discusses how to develop health-related instruments for Rasch models, and Part 6 describes how to perform Rasch analysis and document results.