Medical Diagnostics & Clinical Scoring

SF-36 Health Survey (Summary)

Calculate the SF-36 physical and mental health summary scores to comprehensively evaluate patient health-related quality of life.

SF-36 Mean Score
75.6
Health StatusHigh

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SF-36 Health Survey Overview

The Short Form-36 (SF-36) is one of the most widely used and validated patient-reported outcome measures in the world. It is a 36-item questionnaire designed to assess generic health status and health-related quality of life, independent of any specific disease or treatment.

The Eight Health Domains

The 36 questions are aggregated to score eight specific health concepts (domains), which comprehensively map a patient's perceived well-being:

  1. Physical Functioning (PF): Limitations in performing physical activities.
  2. Role Physical (RP): Problems with work or daily activities due to physical health.
  3. Bodily Pain (BP): Intensity of pain and its interference with normal work.
  4. General Health (GH): Personal evaluation of current health and future prospects.
  5. Vitality (VT): Energy levels versus fatigue.
  6. Social Functioning (SF): Interference with normal social activities due to physical or emotional problems.
  7. Role Emotional (RE): Problems with work or daily activities due to emotional issues.
  8. Mental Health (MH): General mental health, including depression, anxiety, and psychological well-being.

Summary Component Scores

The eight domains are often further condensed into two overarching summary measures:

  • Physical Component Summary (PCS): Weighted heavily by PF, RP, BP, and GH.
  • Mental Component Summary (MCS): Weighted heavily by VT, SF, RE, and MH.

Domain Score = [(Raw Score - Lowest Possible Raw Score) / Possible Raw Score Range] × 100

Frequently Asked Questions

Scores for each domain range from 0 (worst possible health state) to 100 (best possible health state). To determine what is 'normal,' scores are usually compared to age- and gender-matched population normative data.

Generic instruments allow researchers and clinicians to compare the burden of different diseases (e.g., comparing the quality of life impact of rheumatoid arthritis versus heart failure). They are often used alongside disease-specific surveys for a complete picture.

The survey is relatively brief and typically takes a patient 5 to 10 minutes to complete independently.

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