title: Equivalence of Chinese and US-English versions of the SF-36 health survey.
abstract: This study evaluated the equivalence of Chinese and US-English versions of the SF-36 Health Survey in a convenience sample of 309 Chinese nationals bilingual in Chinese and English living in a US city. Snowball sampling was used to generate sufficient sample size. Internal consistency, test-retest, and equivalent-forms reliability were estimated. Patients were randomized to one of four groups: (1) English version completed first, followed by Chinese version (same occasion); (2) Chinese version completed first, followed by English version (same occasion); (3) English version completed once and then again 1-week later; (4) Chinese version completed once and then again 1-week later. Internal consistency reliability estimates for the Chinese and US-English versions of the SF-36 scales ranged from 0.60 to 0.88; test-retest reliability estimates (1 week time interval) ranged from 0.67 to 0.90. Reliability estimates for corresponding Chinese and US-English SF-36 scales tended to be similar and not significantly different. Equivalent-forms reliability estimates (product-moment correlations) ranged from 0.81 to 0.98. Mean SF-36 scale scores were comparable for both versions of the instrument. This study provides support for the equivalence of the Chinese and US-English versions of the SF-36.
authors.affiliation: Center for Health Outcomes and PharmacoEconomic Research, Division of Social and Administrative Sciences, College of Pharmacy, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721-0207, USA.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Coons
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Draugalis
authors.forename: X S
authors.initials: XS
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.forename: R D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Hays
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002681:China; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014481:United States