ABSTRACT
This chapter is a comprehensive reference manual providing information on Short-Form 36 Health Survey, which is a self-rating scale, designed to measure the patient’s perspective of his or her health. It is a generic scale, with the aim of yielding “a profile of scores that would be useful in understanding population differences in physical and mental health status, the health burden of chronic disease and other medical conditions, and the effects of treatment of general health status”. The SF-36It has used in acquired brain impairment groups, including neurological populations such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, stroke and traumatic brain injury. A brief history of the instrument's development is provided, along with a description of item content and administration/scoring procedures. Psychometric properties are reviewed and a critical commentary is provided. Key references are cited and in most cases the actual scale is included, giving the reader easy access to the instrument.
