36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36): Comprehensive Health Status Assessment Tool

Assessing general health across eight dimensions to comprehensively evaluate patient health status and treatment effectiveness.

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SF-36

36-Item Short Form Health Survey

The SF-36 assesses general health status across eight dimensions, providing a comprehensive view of patient health, and is used to monitor health status and evaluate treatment effectiveness.

Category
Physical health
Mental health
Wellbeing
Monitoring
Source
Ware, Jr. et al., 1992
Author Name
Ware, J.E., Sherbourne, C.D. (1992)

Instrument Description

The 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) is a widely used, multi-dimensional health survey that assesses patient-reported health outcomes, providing valuable insights for clinical practice and research. The SF-36 measures eight key health dimensions: physical functioning, role limitations due to physical health, role limitations due to emotional problems, social functioning, emotional well-being, energy and fatigue, pain, and general health perceptions. Respondents answer 36 questions with varying response options, including Likert scales and dichotomous choices. Administration is typically self-reported, taking around 5-10 minutes to complete, and can be used across diverse populations and settings, making it an important tool for monitoring health status, evaluating treatment effectiveness, and informing healthcare policy decisions, ultimately helping healthcare professionals make informed decisions that improve patient outcomes.

The 36-Item Short Form Health Survey can be scored using two main approaches: 1. Rand Scoring: This method involves scoring eight health dimensions (physical functioning, role physical, bodily pain, general health, vitality, social functioning, role emotional, and mental health) on a scale of 0 to 100, where higher scores indicate better health. Scores are then calculated for physical and mental component summaries.2. QualityMetric Scoring: This approach also assesses the eight health dimensions and provides scores for physical and mental component summaries, using norm-based scoring to standardise results, making it easier to compare with the general population. Practitioners can use these scores to monitor patient health status and treatment outcomes.

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Advantages

Health monitoring

Tracks patient condition changes systematically.

Outcome validation

Measures treatment effectiveness through standardised tools.

Wide applicability

Serves diverse clinical needs effectively.

Stats

10
Minutes
36
Questions

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