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.
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
Administration, Analysis and Reporting
Intellectus Consulting can assist the student or professional researcher in administering the survey instrument, collecting the data, conducting the analyses and explaining the results.
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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.
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