Is the SF-36 health survey questionnaire suitable as a self-report measure of the health status of older adults with Parkinson's disease?
An amended version of the Short Form 36 health survey questionnaire (SF-36), which has been suggested as being more suitable for self-completion in older adults, was evaluated among a group of elderly subjects with Parkinson's disease (PD). In the subjects who were able to fully complete the modified SF-36 unaided, the severity of PD was broadly reflected by low reported levels of functioning and well-being with this measure. However, the modified questionnaire still did not overcome the problem of missing responses from elderly subjects. A total of 24% of respondents missed one or more of the 36 statements and 80% of missing responses were concentrated in the three statements which had been modified. The SF-36 in its original form would need to be combined with a disease-specific measure to adequately evaluate the health status of older adults with PD.
Hobson
J P
JP
University Department of Geriatric Medicine, Glan Ciwyd District General Hospital, Rhyl, UK.
Meara
R J
RJ
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000523:psychology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*