Health outcomes by self-report: validity of the SF-36 among Australian hospital patients.

Abstract

This paper examines the performance of the SF-36 as a self-reported outcome measure in a diverse sample of Australian hospital in-patients. The data derive from the Care Continuum and Health Outcomes Project with a total of 2088 randomly selected patients, yielding a response rate of 80%. Distributions, completion rates and, in particular, correlates of measures were used to investigate the validity of the SF-36 according to clinical and psychometric criteria. Physical functioning, bodily pain, role limitations-physical, general health and vitality scales better represented physical than mental health, with the relative strength decreasing in that order; while mental health, role limitations..