title: Scoring the SF-36 in Orthopaedics: A Brief Guide.
abstract: The Short Form-36 (SF-36) is the most widely used health-related quality-of-life measure in research to date. There are currently two sources for the SF-36 and scoring instructions: licensing them from Optum, Inc., or obtaining them from publicly available documentation from the RAND Corporation. The SF-36 yields eight scale scores and two summary scores. The physical component summary (PCS) and mental component summary (MCS) scores were derived using an orthogonal-factor analytic model that forced the PCS and MCS to be uncorrelated, and it has been shown to contribute to an inflation of the MCS in patients with substantial physical disability. Oblique scoring can reduce this inflation of the MCS in orthopaedic studies. Spreadsheets to score the SF-36, along with a copy of the questionnaire, are provided.
authors.affiliation: Clinical and Investigative Orthopedics Surgery Unit, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 10 Center Drive, Building 10-CRC, Room 4-2339, MSC1498, Bethesda, MD. E-mail address for T. Bhattacharyya: bhattacharyyat@mail.nih.gov.
authors.forename: Nicholas C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Laucis
authors.affiliation: Division of General Internal Medicine & Health Services Research, UCLA Department of Medicine, 911 Broxton Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024.
authors.forename: Ron D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Hays
authors.affiliation: Clinical and Investigative Orthopedics Surgery Unit, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 10 Center Drive, Building 10-CRC, Room 4-2339, MSC1498, Bethesda, MD. E-mail address for T. Bhattacharyya: bhattacharyyat@mail.nih.gov.
authors.forename: Timothy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bhattacharyya
mesh_terms: D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D019637:Orthopedic Procedures; D009985:Orthopedics; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires