The Short-Form 36 and older people: some problems encountered when using postal administration

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Health Services Research
• Psychometrics

Background:

• The Short-Form 36 (SF-36) is a widely used health status questionnaire.
• Assessing the usability of the SF-36 in different populations is crucial for accurate health data.
• Older adults may face unique challenges with self-administered questionnaires.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify specific difficulties encountered during the postal administration of the SF-36.
• To evaluate the response and completion rates of the SF-36 via mail in an elderly population.
• To discuss participant feedback regarding the perceived difficulty of the SF-36.

Main Methods:

• A cohort of individuals aged 65 and above, referred to community-based therapy services, participated.
• The SF-36 was administered face-to-face at baseline and follow-up (3 and 6 months).
• An interim postal questionnaire solely containing the SF-36 was sent to participants.

Main Results:

• Postal administration of the SF-36 resulted in lower-than-anticipated response and completion rates.
• Despite prior face-to-face administration, only 60.7% of postal respondents completed all SF-36 items.
• Analysis included participant comments and ratings of questionnaire difficulty.

Conclusions:

• Postal administration of the SF-36 poses significant challenges for older adults.
• Low return rates, high missing data, and response ambiguities necessitate careful consideration.
• Alternative data collection methods or different health status measures may be more suitable for this demographic.