Comparison of the questions in the SF-36 and the abbreviated health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) questionnaire used in this study
| Questionnaires* | Original SF-36 | Modified short-HRQoL |
| Time specified for subject response | Either in at the time of analysis or in past 4 weeks | Evaluated at four time periods: before treatment; after 4 weeks of treatment; after delivery; and during the past 4 weeks before interview |
| Question: stem and detailed item† | Question number and response options | Question number and response options |
| In general, would you say your health is | Q1: Excellent; Very good; Good; Fair; Poor | Q1: Excellent; Very good; Good; Fair; Poor |
| The following questions are about activities you might do during a typical day. Does your health now limit you in these activities? If so, how much? | Yes, limited a lot; Yes, limited a little; No, not limited at all | Yes, limited a lot; Yes, limited a little; No, not limited at all |
| Moderate activities, such as moving a table, pushing a vacuum cleaner, bowling, or playing golf | Q3b | Q2a |
| Climbing several flights of stairs | Q3d | Q2b |
| During the past 4 weeks, how much of the time have you had any of the following problems with your work or other regular daily activities as a result of your physical health? | All of the time; Most of the time; Some of the time; A little of the time; None of the time | All of the time; Most of the time; Some of the time; A little of the time; None of the time |
| Accomplished less than you would like | Q4b | Q3a |
| Were limited in the kind of work or other activities | Q4c | Q3b |
| During the past 4 weeks, how much of the time have you had any of the following problems with your work or other regular daily activities as a result of any emotional problems (such as feeling depressed or anxious)? | All of the time; Most of the time; Some of the time; A little of the time; None of the time | All of the time; Most of the time; Some of the time; A little of the time; None of the time |
| Accomplished less than you would like | Q5b | Q6a |
| Did work or other activities less carefully than usual | Q5c | Q6b |
| Have you felt calm and peaceful? | Q9d | Q4a |
| Did you have a lot of energy? | Q9e | Q4b |
| Have you felt downhearted and depressed? | Q9f | Q4c |
| Have you been diagnosed with or treated for depression or postnatal depression since the birth of your baby? | Not included | Q4d: Diagnosed: Yes/No; Treated: Yes/No |
| During the past 4 weeks, how much of the time has your physical health or emotional problems interfered with your social activities (like visiting friends, relatives, etc)? | Q10: All of the time; Most of the time; Some of the time; A little of the time; None of the time | Q5: All of the time; Most of the time; Some of the time; A little of the time; None of the time |
| During the past 4 weeks, how much did pain interfere with your normal work (including both work outside the home and housework)? | Q8: Not at all; A little bit; Moderately; Quite a bit; Extremely | Not included |
*Not all of the original SF-36 questions are included in this list. All the questions shown in this list, except for the last original SF-36 question about pain, were included in the questionnaire administered in this study. Where the questionnaire response was the same this is indicated, and where the response differed from the original SF-36 wording the new responses were shown. The order in which the questions (eg, Q1 as first question, or Q5b as question subset 5 s question) were administered in the original and modified questionnaires is shown.
†Questions: Q1, Q2, etc denotes question numbers.