Quality of life among Swedish patients after stroke: psychometric evaluation of SF-36.
OBJECTIVE
Few studies have evaluated the scale assumptions of the Medical Outcomes Study 36-item Short-Form (SF-36) with stroke survivors. The aims of this study were to evaluate the scale assumptions of SF-36 using Swedish patients after stroke and to compare patients' quality of life with that of a healthy population.


METHODS
Cross-sectional study.


METHODS
SF-36 was tested in 188 patients (mean age 74 years) with acute stroke consecutively enrolled from a stroke unit in southern Sweden during 2003-05.


METHODS
Data were collected by interview during a home visit 2-3 weeks after discharge. Psychometric analyses were conducted, and stroke survivors' quality of life was compared with a Swedish normal population.


RESULTS
The internal consistency reliability was >0.70 for all scales. There were notable floor and/or ceiling effects for 3 scales. For 7 scales, there was the expected association with the 2 summary scales. Compared with a normal Swedish population, stroke has a negative effect on health-related quality of life, especially for patients aged 45-54 years.


CONCLUSIONS
SF-36 functions well as a measure of health-related quality of life in Swedish patients after stroke, but the 2 summary scales have shortcomings. Our findings support good divergent validity of SF-36 for discriminating health-related quality of life of stroke groups and normal populations.
Almborg
Ann-Helene
AH
Institute of Gerontology, School of Health Sciences, Jönköping University, Jönköping, Sweden. alah@hhj.hj.se
Berg
Stig
S
D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000523:psychology; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000379:methods; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D020521:Stroke / Q000523:psychology*; D000071939:Stroke Rehabilitation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires