Short Form (36) Health Survey (SF-36)

The Short Form (36) Health Survey (SF-36) evaluates the functional health and well-being of patients.

The test consists of 36 questions and requires 10 minutes to administer. The Sf-36 includes a multi-item scale with 8 subscales. A physical summary and a mental summary are included in the test scoring. SF-12 is the reduced version of the survey and requires only 2 minutes is necessary for completion.

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Author

Stewart, 1988

Reliability and Validity

According to numerous studies (i.e., Vikrey et al., 1995), the evidence for the validity of the SF-36 is considerable. A Cronbach alpha rating ranging from .67 to .94 was calculated for the eight subscales. Excluding the social functioning subscale, all of the subscales received a reliability coefficient above 0.75. The SF-36 was best correlated with the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) and the Ambulation Index as a physical functioning scale.

Obtaining the SF-36

Rand Health

Administration, Analysis and Reporting

Statistics Solutions consists of a team of professional methodologists and statisticians that can assist the student or professional researcher in administering the survey instrument, collecting the data, conducting the analyses and explaining the results.

For additional information on these services, click here.

References

Bindman, A. B., Keane, D., & Lurie, N. (1990). Measuring health changes among severely ill patients: The floor phenomenon. Medical Care 28(12), 1142–1152.

Jenkinson, C., Wright, L., & Coulter, A. (1994). Criterion validity and reliability of the SF-36 in a population sample. Quality of Life Research 3(1):7–12.

Dissertation and Journal Abstracts

Hee, H., Whitecloud, T.S., Myers, L., Gaynor, J., Roesch, W., & Ricciardi, J. E. (2001). SF-36 health status of workers compensation cases with spinal disorders. The Spine Journal, 1(3), 176-182.

Lyons, R. A., Wareham, K., Lucas, M., Price, D., Williams, J., & Hutchings, H. A. (1999). SF-36 scores vary by method of administration implications for study design. Journal of public health medicine, 21, 41-45.

Kazis, L. E., Miller, D. R., Clark, J. A., Skinner, K. M., Lee, A., Spiro, A., et al. (2004). Improving the response choices on the veterans SF-36 Health Survey Role Functioning Scales: Results from the Veterans Health Study. Journal of Ambulatory Care Management, 27(3), 263-80.