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SF-12
SF-12 – Online
SF-12 User's Manual
Outcome Measure Reports

Description

This single-page health status survey was developed to monitor outcomes in general and specific populations. The researchers responded with a quick 12-item survey after encountering "many large-scale outcomes monitoring efforts that omitted functional health surveys because of severe constraints on the amount of data that could be collected" (Quality Metric, Inc., 2000).

Type of Tool

The instrument contains 12 items. A User's Manual is available.

Attribution

The (Short-Form) SF-12® was developed by Ware, Kosinski, and Keller (1996).

Reliability and Validity

The SF-12 is a subset of the SF-36®. Psychometric properties of the SF-36 have been confirmed in more than three dozen studies in the United States and other countries. The reliability of the "eight scales and two summary measures has been estimated using internal consistency, test-retest, and alternate forms (mental health scale only) methods. With few exceptions, coefficients have exceeded the minimum standard of 0.70 recommended for measures used in group comparisons; most have exceeded 0.80. Reliability estimates for physical and mental summary scores usually exceed 0.90. … Because of the widespread use of the SF-36 across a variety of applications, evidence of all types of validity is relevant. The content validity of the SF-36 compares favorably with other widely used generic surveys. Relative to the longer Medical Outcomes Study (MOS) measures they were constructed to reproduce, SF-36 scales typically have performed with about 80 to 90 percent empirical validity in cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. The validity of each of the eight scales and the two summary scales differ markedly as would be expected from factor analytic studies of construct validity. Specifically, the mental health, role-emotional, and social functioning scales and the mental health summary measure have been shown to be the best mental measures in numerous cross-cultural and longitudinal tests using the method of known groups validity" (Ware, 1996, p. 62).

Administrative Burden

The survey takes approximately 2 minutes to complete.

Performance Measures

1. General health status
2. Functional health status
3. Impairment in daily activities as a result of physical health
4. Impairment in daily activities as a result of emotional health
5. Functional status related to pain
6. Functional status related to emotions
7. Impairment of social activities

Click here to download a hard copy of the SF-12.

Click here to access an online version of the SF-12.

Click here to access the Outcome Measure Reports module.

References

Quality Metric, Inc. (2000). The SF-12: An even shorter health survey. Retrieved February 6, 2002, from http://www.sf-36.org/tools/sf12.shtml

Ware, J. E., Kosinski, M., & Keller, S. D. (1996). A 12-item short-form health survey: Construction of scales and preliminary tests of reliability and validity. Medical Care, 34, 220–233.