An evaluation of a brief health status measure in elderly veterans.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the feasibility of a brief 36-item health status measure in elderly male veterans, by comparing it with the 136-item Sickness Impact Profile.


METHODS
Cross-sectional study in which all subjects completed both measures in a random order.


METHODS
Durham VAMC General Medicine and Geriatrics Clinics.


METHODS
Convenience sample of 25 male veterans aged 65 and older (mean age = 73.5 years; 68% white; 68% currently married; mean annual income = $7,000).


METHODS
Two well-validated health status measures, the Sickness Impact Profile and the SF-36.


RESULTS
The SF-36 took less time to administer than the Sickness Impact Profile in both the Geriatrics Clinic (mean: 15 vs 33 minutes) and General Medicine Clinic (mean: 14 vs 21 minutes). Although SIP scores consistently displayed a more optimistic picture of respondents' health compared with the SF-36, the two instruments were highly correlated: overall functioning (r = 0.73), physical functioning (r = 0.78), and social functioning (r = 0.67).


CONCLUSIONS
These two measures provide a similar ranking of elderly male veterans' health status. The significantly shorter administration time of the SF-36 is an attractive feature for both researchers and clinicians interested in assessing health status.
Weinberger
M
M
Center for Health Services Research in Primary Care, Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center, NC 27705.
Samsa
G P
GP
Hanlon
J T
JT
Schmader
K
K
Doyle
M E
ME
Cowper
P A
PA
Uttech
K M
KM
Cohen
H J
HJ
Feussner
J R
JR
D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006304:Health Status; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009657:North Carolina; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011897:Random Allocation; D012919:Social Behavior; D014728:Veterans