The SF-36: not suitable for children

Is the SF-36 suitable for assessing health status of older stroke patients?

INTRODUCTION The Medical Outcomes Study short form 36 health survey (SF-36) is being increasingly used and recommended as a suitable measure of subjective health status. However, it is unlikely that any measure will be appropriate for all groups. We wished to determine the suitability of the SF-36 for assessing quality of life in older stroke patients. METHODS A screening questionnaire was us...

Interpreting the SF-36 Health Survey

One of the most frequently asked questions about health surveys such as the SF-36® is "what do the numbers mean"? Health status scores are abstractions, which obtain meaning through knowledge of how the scores are related to other variables. Although we may not think about it, this is also true for more commonly used measures. For example, a temperature of 0°C is an abstract number, which becom...

Assessing health status with the SF-36.

South Australian Population Norms for the Short Form 36 (SF-36) Health Status questionnaire

Sample sizes for studies using the short form 36 (SF-36)

When designing a study to compare the outcomes of an intervention, an essential step is the calculation of sample sizes that will allow a reasonable chance (power) of detecting a predetermined difference (effect size) in the outcome variable, at a given level of significance. Sample size is critically dependent on the proposed effect size: half the effect size and the sample size is quadrupled....