SF-36

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The Short Form (36) Health Survey is a survey of patient health. The SF-36 is commonly used in health economics as a variable in the QALY unit to determine the cost-effectiveness of a health treatment.

Contents 1 Scoring 2 Uses 3 Limitations 4 Notes 5 Further Reading

[edit] Scoring

^[1] The SF-36® consists of eight scaled scores, which are the sums of the questions in their section. Each scale is directly transformed into a 1-100 scale on the assumption that each question carries equal weight.

The eight sections are:

• vitality
• physical functioning
• bodily pain
• general health perceptions
• role physical
• role emotional
• role mental
• mental health

[edit] Uses

^[2]

• Evaluating individual patients
• Researching the cost-effectiveness of a treatment
• Monitoring and comparing disease burden

[edit] Limitations

^[3]

• The survey does not take into consideration a sleep variable
• The survey has a low response rate in the >65 population

[edit] Notes

1. ^ SF 36 FAQ. http://www.sf-36.org/faq/scoring.aspx?id=4
2. ^ Pearson, L. "Medical Outcome Short Form (36) Health Survey" Updated August 2005. http://www.swin.edu.au/victims/resources/assessment/health/sf36.html
3. ^ Pearson, L. "Medical Outcome Short Form (36) Health Survey" Updated August 2005. http://www.swin.edu.au/victims/resources/assessment/health/sf36.html

[edit] Further Reading

[1] Comparing the incomparable? A systematic review of competing techniques for converting descriptive measures of health status into QALY-weights

[2]SF-36: A community for measuring health outcomes using SF tools