Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 (SF-36)

Summary

What it measures:

Generic, patient-reported measure designed to assess health-related quality of life

Target Population:

The Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 36 (SF-36) has been well studied in the following populations (Turner-Bowker et al, 2002):

Arthritis
Back pain
Low back pain
Multiple sclerosis (MS)
Musculoskeletal conditions
Neuromuscular conditions
Osteoarthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis
Spinal cord injuries (SCI)
Stroke
Trauma

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) (Nichol et al, 2011)

Recommendations from the Neurology Section of the American Physical Therapy Association's StrokEDGE Taskforce, MSEDGE Taskforce, SCI EDGE Taskforce, and the TBI EDGE Taskforce are listed below. These recommendations were developed by a panel of research and clinical experts using a modified Delphi process.

For detailed information about how recommendations were made, please visit: http://www.neuropt.org/go/healthcare-professionals/neurology-section-outcome-measures-recommendations

Abbreviations:
HR	Highly recommend
R	Recommend
*LS / UR*	Reasonable to use, but limited study in target group / Unable to recommend
NR	Not recommended

Recommendations for use based on acuity level of the patient:

	Acute (CVA <2 mo post) (SCI <1 mo post)	Subacute (CVA 2-6 mo) (SCI 3-6 mo)	Chronic (>6 mo)
StrokEDGE	NR	R	R
SCI EDGE	NR	LS	R

Recommendations based on level of care in which the assessment is taken:

	Acute Care	Inpatient Rehabilitation	Skilled Nursing Facility	Outpatient Rehabilitation	Home Health
StrokEDGE	NR	R	R	R	R
MS EDGE	NR	NR	NR	R	R
TBI EDGE	NR	NR	NR	LS	LS

Recommendations based on SCI AIS Classification:

	AIS A/B	AIS C/D
SCI EDGE	R	R

Recommendations for use based on ambulatory status after brain injury:

	Completely Independent	Mildly Dependent	Moderately Dependent	Severely Dependant
TBI EDGE	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Recommendations based on EDSS Classification:

	EDSS 0.0 – 3.5	EDSS 4.0 – 5.5	EDSS 6.0 – 7.5	EDSS 8.0 – 9.5
MS EDGE	R	R	R	NR

Recommendations for entry-level physical therapy education and use in research:

	Students should learn to administer this tool? (Y/N)	Students should be exposed to tool? (Y/N)	Is this tool appropriate for use in intervention research studies? (Y/N)
StrokEDGE	No	Yes	Yes
SCI EDGE	No	Yes	Yes
MS EDGE	No	Yes	Yes
TBI EDGE	No	Yes	Yes

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