The equivalence of SF-36 summary health scores estimated using standard and country-specific algorithms in 10 countries: results from the IQOLA Project. International Quality of Life Assessment
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Authors
Ware, John E. Jr.Gandek, Barbara
Kosinski, Mark
Aaronson, Neil K.
Apolone, Giovanni
Brazier, John E.
Bullinger, Monika
Kaasa, Stein
Leplege, Alain
Prieto, Luis
Sullivan, Marianne
Thunedborg, Kate
UMass Chan Affiliations
Department of Quantitative Health SciencesDocument Type
Journal ArticlePublication Date
1998-11-17Keywords
AlgorithmsCross-Cultural Comparison
Europe
Factor Analysis, Statistical
*Health Status Indicators
Humans
Psychometrics
*Quality of Life
Questionnaires
United States
Biostatistics
Epidemiology
Health Services Research
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Data from general population surveys (n = 1771 to 9151) in nine European countries (Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom) were analyzed to test the algorithms used to score physical and mental component summary measures (PCS-36/MCS-36) based on the SF-36 Health Survey. Scoring coefficients for principal components were estimated independently in each country using identical methods of factor extraction and orthogonal rotation. PCS-36 and MCS-36 scores were also estimated using standard (U.S.-derived) scoring algorithms, and results were compared. Product-moment correlations between scores estimated from standard and country-specific scoring coefficients were very high (0.98 to 1.00) for both physical and mental health components in all countries. As hypothesized for orthogonal components, correlations between physical and mental components within each country were very low (0.00 to 0.12) for both estimation methods. Mean scores for PCS-36 differed by as much as 3.0 points across countries using standard scoring, and mean scores for MCS-36 differed across countries by as much as 6.4 points. In view of the high degree of equivalence observed within each country, using standard and country-specific algorithms, we recommend use of standard scoring algorithms for purposes of multinational studies involving these 10 countries.Source
J Clin Epidemiol. 1998 Nov;51(11):1167-70. Link to article on publisher's siteDOI
10.1016/S0895-4356(98)00108-5Permanent Link to this Item
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14038/47421PubMed ID
9817134Related Resources
Link to Article in PubMedae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1016/S0895-4356(98)00108-5