HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS REGISTER		Author Keyword(s) Vol Page [Advanced]

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this link to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Add article to my folders Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Li, L Articles by Shen, Y Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Li, L Articles by Shen, Y Topic Collections Relevant Article

Chinese SF-36 Health Survey: translation, cultural adaptation, validation, and normalisation

¹ Department of Social Medicine, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, China
² Department of Health Statistics, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Professor L Li, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, 353 Yan’an Road, Hangzhou, 310006, Zhejiang Province, China;
lilu{at}cmm.zju.edu.cn

Study objective: To develop a self administered Chinese (mainland) version of the Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) for use in health related quality of life measurements in China.

Design: A three stage protocol was followed including translation, tests of scaling construction and scoring assumptions, validation, and normalisation.

Setting: 1000 households in 18 communities of Hangzhou.

Participants: 1688 respondents recruited by multi-stage mixed sampling.

Main results: The assumption of equal intervals was violated for the vitality and mental health scales. The recoded item values were used to calculate scale scores. The clustering and ordering of item means was the same as that of the source and other two Chinese versions. The items in each scale had similar standard deviations except those in the physical functioning, boduily pain, social functioning scales. The item hypothesised scale correlations were identical for all except the social functioning and vitality scales. Convergent validity and discriminant validity were satisfactory for all except the social functioning scale. Cronbach’s coefficients ranged from 0.72 to 0.88 except 0.39 for the social functioning scale and 0.66 for the vitality scale. Two weeks test-retest reliability coefficients ranged from 0.66 to 0.94. Factor analysis identified two principal components explaining 56.3% of the total variance. The Chinese SF-36 could distinguish known groups.

Conclusions: This study suggested that the Chinese (mainland) version of the SF-36 functioned in the general population of Hangzhou, China quite similarly to the original American population tested. Caution is recommended in the interpretation of the social functioning and vitality scales pending further studies.

Keywords: SF-36; Chinese adaptation; quality of life

Relevant Article

SOME BY FIRE AND SOME BY THEIR OWN HAND

John R Ashton and Carlos Alvarez-Dardet
J. Epidemiol. Community Health 2003 57: 233. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

This article has been cited by other articles:

				T. Steffen and M. Seney Test-Retest Reliability and Minimal Detectable Change on Balance and Ambulation Tests, the 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey, and the Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale in People With Parkinsonism Physical Therapy, June 1, 2008; 88(6): 733 - 746. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C L Hu, H Jiang, Q Z Tang, Q H Zhang, J B Chen, C X Huang, and G S Li Comparison of rate control and rhythm control in patients with atrial fibrillation after percutaneous mitral balloon valvotomy: a randomised controlled study Heart, August 1, 2006; 92(8): 1096 - 1101. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]