Health and Quality of Life Outcomes BioMed Central Research Open Access Cultural Issues in Using the SF-36 Health Survey in Asia: Results from Taiwan Hsu-Min Tseng*1, Jui-fen Rachel Lu*1 and Barbara Gandek2 Address: 1Health Databank Management Lab, Department of Health Care Management, College of Management, Chang Gung University, TAIWAN and 2Health Assessment Lab, Waltham, Massachusetts, USA Email: Hsu-Min Tseng* - tsenghm@; Jui-fen Rachel Lu* - rachel@; Barbara Gandek - bgandek@ * Corresponding authors Published: 26 November 2003 Health and Quality of Life Outcomes 2003, 1:72 This article is available from: Received: 30 July 2003 Accepted: 26 November 2003 © 2003 Tseng et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This. | BioMed Central Health and Quality of Life Outcomes Research Open Access Cultural Issues in Using the SF-36 Health Survey in Asia Results from Taiwan Hsu-Min Tseng 1 Jui-fen Rachel Lu 1 and Barbara Gandek2 Address 1Health Databank Management Lab Department of Health Care Management College of Management Chang Gung University TAIWAN and 2Health Assessment Lab Waltham Massachusetts USA Email Hsu-Min Tseng - tsenghm@ Jui-fen Rachel Lu - rachel@ Barbara Gandek - bgandek@ Corresponding authors Published 26 November 2003 Received 30 July 2003 Accepted 26 November 2003 Health and Quality of Life Outcomes 2003 1 72 r This article is available from http content 1 1 72 2003 Tseng et al licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article verbatim copying and redistribution of this article are permitted in all media for any purpose provided this notice is preserved along with the article s original URL. Abstract Background The feasibility of using the SF-36 in non-Western cultures is important for researchers seeking to understand cultural influences upon health status perceptions. This paper reports on the performance of the Taiwan version of the SF-36 including the implications of cultural influences. Methods A total of 1191 volunteered subjects from the general population answered the translated SF-36 Taiwan version which was developed following IQOLA project protocols. Results Results from tests of scaling assumptions and reliability generally were satisfactory. Convergent validity as assessed by comparing the SF-36 to a mental health oriented inventory was acceptable. Results of principal components analysis were similar to US results for many scales. However differences were seen for the Vitality scale which was a stronger measure of mental health than physical health in Taiwan. Results are compared to those from other Asian studies and the . Conclusion The results raise important questions regarding .
