SF-36v2 Health Survey
A multi-purpose, short-form health survey assessing physical and mental health-related quality of life.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The SF-36v2 Health Survey was developed by John E. Ware, Jr., Maurine Kosinski, and Janis E. Dewey (2000). It is designed to measure Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL). The scale is intended for use with General adult population and clinical groups.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 36 items organized into 9 factors/subscales: Physical Functioning, Role-Physical, Role-Emotional, Bodily Pain, General Health, Vitality, Social Functioning, Mental Health, Health Transition.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| Physical Functioning | 3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12 | 10 |
| Role-Physical | 13,14,15,16 | 4 |
| Role-Emotional | 17,18,19 | 3 |
| Bodily Pain | 21,22 | 2 |
| General Health | 1,33,34,35,36 | 5 |
| Vitality | 23,27,29,31 | 4 |
| Social Functioning | 20,32 | 2 |
| Mental Health | 24,25,26,28,30 | 5 |
| Health Transition | 2 | 1 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 1 = All of the time / Excellent / Definitely true, 2 = Most of the time / Very good / Mostly true, 3 = Some of the time / Good / Don't know, 4 = A little of the time / Fair / Mostly false, 5 = None of the time / Poor / Definitely false.
The scale includes 7 reverse-scored items to reduce acquiescence bias.
Scoring
Items are scored by subscale, with each subscale sum representing a distinct dimension.
Total scores range from 0 to 100. Interpretation guidelines:
- Scores range from 0 to 100 for each subscale, where higher scores indicate better health status.: 0 – 100
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of Alpha coefficients typically exceed 0.80 across all subscales.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 10 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.