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The MOS 36-Item Short Form Health Survey: reliability, validity, and preliminary findings in schizophrenic
J Russo1, C A Trujillo, D Wingerson
1University of Washington at Harborview Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Seattle 98104, USA.
Objectives:
The authors test the reliability and validity of the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 36-Item Health Survey (SF-36) as a written, self-administered survey in outpatients with chronic schizophrenia.
Methods:
Thirty-six schizophrenic outpatients completed a written and oral form of the SF-36. A psychiatrist rated the patients using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale to determine severity of psychopathology. Cognitive functioning and academic achievement were also assessed. Internal consistency, test-retest reliability, concurrent and discriminative validity of the oral and written versions were determined.
Results:
The SF-36 in both forms was shown to have good internal consistency, stability, and concurrent validity. The mental health SF-36 subscales had poor discriminant validity, compared with the physical functioning scale that demonstrated good discriminant validity.
Conclusions:
The validity of using the written form of the SF-36 on a sample of patients with chronic mental illness was demonstrated. The SF-36 appears to be an appropriate outcome measure for changes in physical and role functioning in consumers of outpatient mental health programs.