Validation of the SF-36 as a screening tool for depression.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Validation of the SF-36 mental health component as a screening tool for depression in Rheumatoid Arthritis.
IRAS ID
137020
Contact name
Matthew Hotopf
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King's College London
Research summary
Rheumatoid Arthritis is a chronic, progressive condition which has a substantial impact on patients’ quality-of-life, and mood. The SF-36 is the most widely used and evaluated quality-of-life outcome measure and has extensive evidence for its validity and reliability in multiple populations. It consists of eight domains, one of which assesses patient mental health. This individual domain has yet to be validated as a stand-alone mental health assessment in Rheumatoid Arthritis patients. The PHQ-9 is a commonly-used and well-validated screening tool for depression in Rheumatoid Arthritis. The aim of this project is to compare the two measures, assessing internal consistency, reliability, convergent validity and clinical correlates. Patients attending outpatient appointments at King’s College Hospital Rheumatology department will be screened during their time in the clinic- either before or after their appointment. The target number of patient to recruit will be 100. The SF-36 mental health domain (SF-36-MH) will be completed in hard-copy format. Patients currently complete an electronic version of the PHQ-9 as part of routine measurement of patient-reported outcomes within the clinic, and the results from the SF-36 mental health domain will be validated against this measure. Internal consistency reliability will be assessed using Cronbach’s α. Convergent validity with other measures will be assessed using Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Linear regression models will be used to compare associations between the SF-36-MH and the PHQ-9 and clinical correlates of depression in Rheumatoid Arthritis.
REC name
West Midlands - Solihull Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/WM/0173
Date of REC Opinion
15 May 2014
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion