12-Item Short Form Survey (SF-12)
The SF-12 is a self-reported outcome measure assessing the impact of health on an individual’s everyday life. It is often used as a quality of life measure.
The SF-12 is a shortened version of it’s predecessor, the SF-36, which itself evolved from the Medical Outcomes Study[1]. The SF-12 was created to reduce the burden of response[2].
The SF-12 uses the exact eight domains as the SF-36:
- Limitations in physical activities because of health problems.
- Limitations in social activities because of physical or emotional problems
- Limitations in usual role activities because of physical health problems
- Bodily pain
- General mental health (psychological distress and well-being)
- Limitations in usual role activities because of emotional problems
- Vitality (energy and fatigue)
- General health perceptions
Intended Population
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Like the SF-36, the SF-12 is designed as a general measure of health so can be used with the general population.
Method of Use
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Patients fill out a 12-question survey which is then scored by a clinician or researcher.
Unlike the SF-36, the SF-12 is not available for free by its authors, due to a scoring programme. Find out more about using this health survey here
The SF-12 has been tested in a range of disease populations, including mental health, stroke, and myocardial infarction.
When compared to the SF-36 in various patient groups varying in age, physical and mental health, the SF-12 scores were similar to the SF-36 but almost always had bigger standard errors[3].
A separate study[4] compared the SF-12 to the SF-36 in treatments for congestive heart failure, sleep apnoea, and inguinal hernia. The authors found that the SF-12 agreed with the MCS and PCS of the SF-36, noting that the scores recorded the same level of health and changed over time.
A third study of responses from nine European countries also confirmed a correlation between SF-12 and SF-36 component summaries and recommended the SF-12 to be useful for the assessment of large populations[5].
The SF-12 has been shown to reflect change over time like the SF-36[4].
There are two versions of the SF-12 which have some differences in scoring so it is recommended that users document which version they are using.
