Measuring perceived health outcomes in non-western culture: does SF-36 have a place

Abstract

This study explored the usefulness of a generic health assessment ool SF-36 in measuring perceived health outcomes in a developing-country setting. The adapted Bangla version was administered in 10 villages of Matlab sub-district in Bangladesh during second half of 1999.Respondents included currently-married males and females selected randomly from households stratified according to heir association with women-focused development interventions of BRAC. Findings revealed that he respondents from BRAC households perceived their health status marginally better than the poor non-member group in most domains studied, sometimes significantly so,e.g. general and mental health (p<0.05). The respondents from BRAC reported better current health than their non-member counterparts. The gender difference in assessment of health status was noted among the groups. Age, education, and poverty were important determinants of perceived health status.SF-36 proved to be a useful ool for self-assessment of health status and group comparison when properly modified for cross-cultural adaptation