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Readying a US measure of health status, the SF-36, for use in Canada
S W Dauphinee1, L Gauthier, B Gandek
1School of Physical and Occupational Therapy, McGill University, Montreal, Que.
Objective:
To culturally adapt and translate for use in French- and English-speaking areas of Canada the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), a carefully developed and standardized measure that is useful for assessing the outcomes for care.
Design:
For the Canadian French version, the methods involved forward and backward translations, quality ratings of the translated product, a scaling exercise and pilot tests. A process of cultural adaptation, along with the scaling exercise and pilot tests, was used to create a form in Canadian English.
Results:
The authors produced acceptable versions of the SF-36 in Canadian French and English.
Conclusions:
Although further psychometric testing of the Canadian versions of the SF-36 is desirable, they are now available for use in clinical practice and research in Canada.