This study investigated the characteristics and validity of the SF-36 (Australian version) health profile and summary scores for recently discharged hospital patients and compared this with US and Australian community samples with minor and serious medical conditions. Adult medical, surgical, obstetric and gynaecological patients from a large teaching hospital in NSW, Australia, completed a postal survey 1 week after discharge. The SF- 36 discriminated well among patient groups and performed well on most validity tests. Scale and summary scores varied by age, gender, seriousness of condition on admission, prior health status and hospital group. The findings highlight the potential of the SF-36 in monitoring the health status of Australian hospital patients and assessing the health-related support needed on discharge.
American College of Physicians. (1988). Comprehensive functional assessment for elderly patients. Annals of Internal Medicine, 109, 70-72.
2.
Bergner, M., Bobbitt, R.A., Carter, W.B., & Gilson, B.S. (1981). The Sickness Impact Profile: Development and final revision of a health status measure. Medical Care, 19, 787-805.
3.
Brazier, J.E., Harper, R., Jones, N.M., et al. (1992). Validating the SF-36 health survey questionnaire: New outcome measure for primary care. British Medical Journal , 305, 160-164.
4.
Comrey, A.L. (1973). A first course in factor analysis. New York: Academic Press.
5.
EuroQOL Group. (1990). EuroQOL—a new facility for the measurement of health-related quality of life. Health Policy, 16, 199-208.
6.
Foot, G.G., & Sanson-Fisher, R.W. (1996a). Examining the prevalence and predictors of patient satisfaction with hospital care: An Australian study . Unpublished report, University of Newcastle.
7.
Foot, G.G., & Sanson-Fisher, R.W. (1996b). Measuring patient satisfaction with Australian hospitals: A psychometric solution. Unpublished report, University of Newcastle.
8.
Garrat, A.M., Ruta, D.A., Abdalla, M.I., Buckingham, J.K., & Russell, I.T. (1993). The SF-36 Health Profile: An outcome measure suitable for routine use within the NHS?British Medical Journal, 306, 1440-1444.
9.
Geigle, R., & Jones, S.B. (1990). Outcomes measurement: A report from the front . Inquiry, 27, 7-13.
10.
Hunt, S.M., McKenna, S., McEwen, J., Williams, J., & Papp, E. (1981). The Nottingham Health Profile: Subjective health status and medical consultations. Social Science and Medicine , 15A, 219-221.
11.
Lansky, D., Butler, J.B., & Waller, F.T. (1992). Using health status measures in the hospital setting: From acute care to 'outcomes management'. Medical Care, 30 (Suppl.), MS57-MS73.
12.
McCallum, J. (1995). The SF-36 in an Australian sample: Validating a new, generic health status measure. Australian Journal of Public Health, 19, 160-166.
13.
McHomey, C.A., Ware, J.E., & Raczek, A.E. (1993). The MOS 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36): II. Psychometric and clinical tests of validity in measuring physical and mental health constructsMedical Care, 31, 247-263.
14.
McHomey, C.A., Ware, J.E., Lu, J.F.R., & Sherbourne, C.D. (1994). The MOS 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36): III. Tests of data quality, scaling assumptions, and reliability across diverse patient groupsMedical Care, 32, 40-66.
15.
Parkerson, G.R., Broadhead, W.E., & Tse, C.K.J. (1990). The Duke Health Profile: A 17-item measure of health and dysfunction. Medical Care, 28, 1056-1072.
16.
Stevenson, C. (1996). SF-36: Interim norms for Australian data. Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare .
17.
Tarlov, A.R., Ware, J.E., Greenfield, S., Nelson, E.C., Perrin, E., & Zubkoff, M. (1989). The Medical Outcomes Study: An application of methods for monitoring the results of medical care. Journal of the American Medical Association,262, 925-930.
18.
Ware, J.E., Gandek, B., & IQOLA Project Group. (1994). The SF-36 Health Survey: Development and use in mental health research and the IQOLA Project. Internal Journal of Mental Health, 23, 49-73.
19.
Ware, J.E., Keller, S.D., Gandek, B., Brazier, J.E., Sullivan, M., & IQOLA Project Group. (1995). Evaluating translation of health status questionnaires: Methods from the IQOLA Project. International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care, 11, 525-551.
20.
Ware, J.E., Kosinski, M., Bayliss, M.S., McHomey, C.A., Rogers, W.H., & Raczek, A. (1995). Comparison of methods for the scoring and statistical analysis of SF-36 health profile and summary measures. Medical Care, 33 (Suppl.), AS264-AS279.
21.
Ware, J.E., Kosinski, M., & Keller, S.D. (1996). A 12-item Short-Form Health Survey: Construction of scales and preliminary tests of reliability and validity. Medical Care, 34, 220-233.
22.
Ware, J.E., & Sherbourne, C.D. (1992). The MOS 36-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36): I. Conceptual framework and item selectionMedical Care, 30, 473-483.
23.
Ware, J.E., Snow, K.K., Kosinski, M., & Gandek, B. (1993). SF-36 Health Survey manual and interpretation guide. Boston: New England Medical Centre, The Health Institute.
