Health status of individuals entering a cardiac rehabilitation program as measured by the medical outcomes study 36-item short-form survey (SF-36)

Graduate Program in Physical Therapy, Simmons College, Boston, MA 02115.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE. The goal of health care for individuals with chronic disease is the improvement of function and well-being. Although the individual's perception of his or her quality of life may be the best indicator of achievement of this goal, measurement of self-perceived quality of life, or health status, is not a routine component of evaluation. The purposes of this article are to describe the health status of individuals upon entry into a cardiac rehabilitation program and to demonstrate the use of a comprehensive, generic health status measure in this group. SUBJECTS. The subjects of this study were 789 men and women enrolled in one of 13 cardiac rehabilitation programs in the state of Massachusetts. METHODS. As part of a large database, subjects completed a 36-item generic questionnaire, Short Form 36 (SF-36), that examines eight health concepts. Scores range from 0% to 100%; a higher score is consistent with better health status. Results. Mean uncontrolled scores ranged from 26.6 to 70.8. Mean scores adjusted for sex, age, and education ranged from 27.1 to 70.9. In light of previously published data using a similar 20-item scale, our results show that cardiac disease is associated with reductions in health-related quality of life. CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION. Health status measurement provides information that can supplement the usual measures of impairment in patients with cardiovascular disease. The findings of this study contribute to the understanding of health status of individuals who enroll in cardiac rehabilitation programs. The health status instrument used in this study has potential as a useful, practical measurement tool for use in the clinical setting.

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