Translation, Adaptation, and Validation of the SF-36 Health Survey for Use in Japan

Context: Few studies and no international comparisons have examined the impact of multiple chronic conditions on populations using a comprehensive health-related quality of life (HRQL) questionnaire Objective: The impact of common chronic conditions on HRQL among the general populations of eight countries was assessed Design: Cross-sectional mail and interview surveys were conducted Participants and setting: Sample representatives of the adult general population of eight countries (Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway and the United States) were evaluated Sample sizes ranged from 2031 to 4084 Main outcome measures: Self-reported prevalence of chronic conditions (including allergies, arthritis, congestive heart failure, chronic lung disease, hypertension, diabetes, and ischemic heart disease), sociodemographic data and the SF-36 Health Survey were obtained The SF-36 scale and summary scores were estimated for individuals with and without selected chronic conditions and compared across countries using multivariate linear regression analyses Adjustments were made for age, gender, marital status, education and the mode of SF-36 administration Results: More than half (551%) of the pooled sample reported at least one chronic condition, and 302% had more than one Hypertension, allergies and arthritis were the most frequently reported conditions The effect of ischemic heart disease on many of the physical health scales was noteworthy, as was the impact of diabetes on general health, or arthritis on bodily pain scale scores Arthritis, chronic lung disease and congestive heart failure were the conditions with a higher impact on SF-36 physical summary score, whereas for hypertension and allergies, HRQL impact was low (comparing with a typical person without chronic conditions, deviation scores were around −4 points for the first group and −1 for the second) Differences between chronic conditions in terms of their impact on SF-36 mental summary score were low (deviation scores ranged between −1 and −2) Conclusions: Arthritis has the highest HRQL impact in the general population of the countries studied due to the combination of a high deviation score on physical scales and a high frequency Impact of chronic conditions on HRQL was similar roughly across countries, despite important variation in prevalence The use of HRQL measures such as the SF-36 should be useful to better characterize the global burden of disease

Health-related quality of life associated with chronic conditions in eight countries: results from the International Quality of Life Assessment (IQOLA) Project.

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

This survey was conducted from March 1, 2014 to May 30, 2014. Gandek B, Bjorner BJ, Maruish EM (2002) User's Manual for the SF-12v2 Health Survey. Summary: The main objective of this manual is to document and explain each step in the scoring of SF-12v2 scales and summary measures using Norm-Based. Aim: To examine perceived stress and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among Master User's Manual for the SF-12v2 Health Survey (With a Supplement.

User’s manual for the SF-12v2 health survey

Objective: the present study had two main purposes: 1. To examine the relationship between caregiver burden and health-related quality of life in family caregivers of older stroke patients in Japan; and 2. To examine which characteristics of the caregiving situation significantly relate to increased burden. Methods: subjects (n=100) were recruited from seven randomly selected neurological hospitals with out-patient rehabilitation clinics in western Japan and interviewed using the Zarit Burden Interview, the Modified Barthel Index, the Geriatric Depression Scale and the SF-12 Health Survey for health-related quality of life. Results: increased caregiver burden was significantly related to worsening health-related quality of life, particularly worsening mental health (Geriatric Depression Scale and SF-12 items), even after controlling for caregiver age, sex, chronic illness, average caregiving hours/day, and functional dependence of the care-recipient. Discussion: findings indicate that increased burden significantly relates to decreased health-related quality of life among stroke caregivers. In addition, the prevalence of depressive symptoms among caregivers was twice that of community dwelling older people. Roughly 52% of caregivers had Geriatric Depression Scale scores that warranted further evaluation. Despite the prevalence of depressive symptoms only one caregiver had received any psychiatric care during their caregiving tenure.

/pdf/caregiver-burden-and-health-related-quality-of-life-among-3dnc6cses3.pdf

Sayuri Wada

Papers

Psychometric and clinical tests of validity of the Japanese SF-36 Health Survey