A comparison of an electronic version of the SF-36 General Health Questionnaire to the standard paper version.
Because of its sound psychometric properties the SF-36 General Health Questionnaire is used throughout the world, yet it is difficult to analyse and score. Using a newly developed software package, onto which any questionnaire can be loaded, we developed an electronic version of the SF-36 General Health Questionnaire. The purpose of this study is test the effect of the electronic mode of administration on the measurement properties of the SF-36. In a randomised cross-over design study 79 healthy individuals and 36 chronic pain patients completed both electronic and paper versions of the SF-36. Seventy-one percent preferred the electronic SF-36, 7% stated no preference, and 22% preferred the paper version. Completion time for the electronic SF-36 was slightly less, and there were no missing or problematical responses, whereas 44% of participants had at least one missing or problematical response in the paper version. Data entry and auditing time was 8 hours. There was less than 4% inter-version difference for any of the SF-36 sub-scales. The electronic SF-36 was well accepted and slightly quicker to complete than the paper version. We conclude that the electronic SF-36 is equivalent in performance and more effective than the paper version.
Ryan
Judy M
JM
School of Psychology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT. judy.ryan@anu.edu.au
Corry
John R
JR
Attewell
Robyn
R
Smithson
Michael J
MJ
D002908:Chronic Disease; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D003625:Data Collection / Q000379:methods*; D001330:Electronic Data Processing; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D010146:Pain / Q000523:psychology*; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life; D012984:Software; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires