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Measuring QoL with SF-36 in Older Americans with TBI

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Abstract

This study demonstrated reliability and factor structure of the Medical Outcomes Study Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) among older Americans with Traumatic brain injury (TBI), and evaluated effects of injury severity and race on SF-36's items and latent domains. A representative sample of 654 older, racially diverse patients with TBI was selected from the South Carolina Traumatic Brain Injury Follow-up Registry. Reliability and factor structure of SF-36 were evaluated using Cronbach’s alpha and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Multiple-indicator multiple-causes (MIMIC) models were used to study effects of injury severity and race on items (differential item functioning, DIF) and latent domains (population heterogeneity) of SF-36. SF-36 was reliable and its current eightfactor structure was confirmed. While TBI severity did not impact latent domain scores of SF-36, race did. Blacks had higher vitality and lower role-emotional scores than whites. The measurement model was invariant to injury severity and race (free of DIF), and DIF did not contribute to the differences of vitality and role-emotional between black and white older TBI patients. SF-36 was valid to measure quality of life (OoL) after TBI in racially diverse elderly population. Blacks tend to assert to strong coping behaviors in the presence of physical stress while admitting low performance due to emotional stress. In QoL research where the primary outcomes are usually composite scores from instruments, MIMIC models have advantages over conventional multivariable regression models in testing the validity of the instruments and assessing covariate effects on latent traits of instruments while controlling for DIF effects.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported in part by grant U17/CCU421926 from the National Center of Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC), Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (PI: Anbesaw Selassie). The opinions and conclusions expressed are solely those of the authors and should not be construed as representing the opinions and policy of the CDC. Primary support was provided by grant 5 P30 AG021677 South Carolina Cooperative for Healthy Aging in Minority Populations – Resource Center for Minority Aging Research (PI: Barbara Tilley). Additional funding was provided by EXCEED P01 1HS10871 from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and South Carolina Cooperative for Healthy Aging in Minority (PI: Barbara Tilley).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, 600 Centerview Drive, Suite 3400H, Hershey, PA, 17033, USA

    Chengwu Yang

  2. Medical University of South Carolina, 135 Cannon Street, Suite 302M, Charleston, SC, 29425, USA

    Anbesaw W. Selassie

  3. Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA

    Rickey E. Carter

  4. The University of Texas School of Public Health at Houston, 1200 Herman Pressler Drive, RAS E833, Houston, TX, 77030, USA

    Barbara C. Tilley

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  1. Chengwu Yang
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  2. Anbesaw W. Selassie
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  4. Barbara C. Tilley
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Correspondence to Anbesaw W. Selassie.

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Yang, C., Selassie, A.W., Carter, R.E. et al. Measuring QoL with SF-36 in Older Americans with TBI. Applied Research Quality Life 7, 63–81 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-011-9148-4

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