New version of SF-36 offers more precision
An updated version of the SF-36 health status questionnaire is available from the Medical Outcomes Trust in Boston. Version 2.0 includes an improved format, some wording changes, and new scoring.
The new SF-36 provides more possible responses to questions, which means greater precision, says John E. Ware Jr., PhD, director of the Health Assessment Lab and senior scientist with The Health Institute of the New England Medical Center in Boston.
The impact of the changes in Version 2.0 are under study in the National Short-Form Calibration Project, which will enable comparisons of scores across versions.
Ware, who leads the development and test- ing of the SF-36, is also testing a computer- adaptive health assessment, in which the computer determines which questions to ask based on previous responses. For example, if a patient responded that he had no limitations in performing moderate activities, the computerized version wouldn't ask about difficulty bathing and dressing.
The computerized system would provide the precision of a 200- to 300-question survey with fewer questions than the 36 currently provided, Ware says.
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