Reliability of the Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) in Physical Activity Research Using Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is a health outcome that has seen a growing interest in physical activity research. The Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) is the most widely used HRQOL instrument in physical activity research. The purpose of this study was to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of reliability coefficients on the SF-36 HRQOL assessment applied in physical activity research so as to assess the generalizability of HRQOL measurement reliability. A separate meta-analysis was performed for each HRQOL domain (physical and mental). A total of 87 effect sizes were analyzed in this study, 44 for the physical health domain and 43 for the mental health domain. The effect sizes were strong and significantly different from zero for both physical health (ES = .90 [95% CI: .88, .92], p< .001) and mental health (ES = .90 [95% CI: .89, .91], p< .001) domains. These findings show that both HRQOL scales of the SF-36 assessment are reliable across a wide variety of physical activity studies.