Title
Translation, validation, and norming of the Dutch language version of the SF-36 Health Survey in community and chronic disease populations
Author
Aaronson, N.K.
Muller, M.
Cohen, P.D.A.
Essink-Bot, M.-L.
Fekkes, M.
Sanderman, R.
Sprangers, M.A.G.
te Velde, A.
Verrips, E.
TNO Preventie en Gezondheid
Publication year
1998
Abstract
The primary objectives of this research were to translate, validate, and generate normative data on the SF-36 Health Survey for use among Dutch- speaking residents of the Netherlands. Translation of the SF-36 into Dutch followed the stepwise, iterative procedures developed by the IQOLA Project. Following extensive pilot testing, the SF-36 was administered to: (1) a random sample of adult residents of Amsterdam (n = 4172); (2) a random, nationwide sample of adults (n = 1742); (3) a sample of migraine sufferers (n = 423); and (4) a sample of cancer patients undergoing active anti-neoplastic treatment (n = 485). Data quality across the four studies was consistently high. The rates of missing data ranged from 1% to 5% at the item level, and from 1.2% to 2.6% at the scale level. Multitrait scaling analysis confirmed the hypothesized scale structure of the SF-36 and associated scale scoring in all four samples. Cronbach's alpha coefficients surpassed the 0.70 criterion for group comparisons in all but one case (the Social Functioning scale in the cancer sample), with a mean alpha coefficient across all scales and samples of 0.84. Known-group comparisons yielded consistent support for the validity of the SF-36. In the two community samples, statistically significant differences in SF-36 mean scale scores were observed as a function of age, gender, and the prevalence of chronic health conditions. In the migraine and cancer samples, mean SF-36 scale scores varied significantly as a function of various indicators of disease severity. The SF-36 profiles for the two community samples were highly similar. The cancer sample yielded the lowest SF-36 scores, with the migraine sample holding an intermediate position. On-going studies will generate data on the responsiveness of the SF-36 to within-group changes in health over time. Efforts are underway to translate and validate the questionnaire for use among ethnic minority groups in the Netherlands.
Subject
Health
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Cross-Cultural Comparison
Female
Health Status Indicators
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Netherlands
Quality of Life
Questionnaires
Reproducibility of Results
Translations
Cross-cultural research
Health status assessment
Reliability
Validity
Breast cancer
Chronic disease
Colorectal cancer
Congenital heart malformation
Controlled study
Cultural factor
Disease severity
Health survey
Language
Lung cancer
Major clinical study
Migraine
Minority group
Psychometry
Reliability
Sex difference
Validation process
To reference this document use:
http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:287077d8-9a41-483e-99d7-aefd082c3d3d
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/s0895-4356(98)00097-3
TNO identifier
234660
ISSN
0895-4356
Source
Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 51 (11), 1055-1068
Document type
article