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02-Aug-2006
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Arch Hellen Med, 23(2), March-April 2006, 159-166 ORIGINAL PAPER Psychometric evaluation and normative data for the Greek SF-36 health survey
E. PAPPA, N. KONTODIMOPOULOS, D. NIAKAS |
OBJECTIVE To validate the Greek SF-36 health survey and to provide general population normative data.
METHOD The survey was administered to a stratified representative sample (n=1426) of the general population residing in the greater Athens area and the response rate was 70.6%. Statistical analysis was performed according to documented procedures developed within the international quality of life assessment (IQOLA) project.
RESULTS The missing value rate was very low at the item level. Multitrait scaling analysis confirmed the hypothesized scale structure of the SF-36. Cronbach's alpha coefficient met the criterion (>0.70) for group analysis in all eight scales. Known group comparisons yielded consistent support of construct validity. Significant statistical differences in mean scores were observed in relation to demographic and social characteristics such as gender, age, education and marital status.
CONCLUSIONS The results indicated high reliability and validity of all SF-36 scales and support the use of the instrument in studies involving Greek samples. Furthermore, the resulting normative data facilitate transnational comparisons of results.
Key words: Normative data, Quality of life, Reliability, SF-36, Validity.
