Use of the SF-36 Health Questionnaire in older persons. Systematic review

Introduction: The number of elderly people increases exponentially on a global scale, therefore, various investigations determine the self-perception of Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) of this population sector.

Goal: To assess the perceptions reported by elderly people in various countries on the dimensions that evaluate the HRQoL of the SF-36 questionnaire.

Method: A systematic review of the scientific production published in the Scopus, EBSCO, PubMed y LILACS databases during the months of June 1992-july 2020 was conducted.

Results: Seventeen studies involving 79,542 elderly people from nine countries were included. The best perceptions were manifested in the Social Functioning dimension; the lowest were for General Health and Vitality.

Conclusion: The SF-36 questionnaire is a pertinent tool to assess the HRQoL in elderly people from various countries. These people, by expressing their perception, give a determining weight to the Social Functioning dimension.