title: Evidence-based guidelines for using the Short Form 36 in cervical dystonia.
abstract: We aimed to provide evidence-based guidelines for using the Short Form 36 (SF-36) as an outcome measure in cervical dystonia (CD). To do this, we tested the hypothesized relationships between items, scales, and summary measures of the SF-36 using psychometric analyses in data from a postal survey of 235 people with CD. Although the majority of subscales performed adequately, the Role Physical and Role Emotional subscales had substantial floor and/or ceiling effects. Evidence did not support computing SF-36 Physical and Mental Component Summary scores. We propose guidelines that include the recommendation that these subscale and summary scores should be reported with caution.
authors.affiliation: Neurological Outcomes Measures Unit, Institute of Neurology, University College London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Stefan J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Cano
authors.forename: Alan J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.forename: Khailash
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bhatia
authors.forename: Ray
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fitzpatrick
authors.forename: Thomas T
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Warner
authors.forename: Jeremy C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Hobart
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D005260:Female; D017408:Guidelines as Topic / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011594:Psychometrics; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014103:Torticollis / Q000175:diagnosis*