A telephone survey of a national sample of 515 Medicare End Stage Rena
l Disease Program beneficiaries was conducted to obtain information on
their health status and its determinants. The Medical Outcomes Study
Short Form-36 (SF-36) was applied during the interview process to obta
in the health-status information. The reliability of each SF-36 health
-status dimension was at least 0.85, and the validity of seven of the
eight dimensions was high. Weighted least-squares regression results s
howed that health-status levels were often lower among older patients
and Hispanic persons, and sometimes lower for those with low incomes.
The implications of using the SF-36 for health-status measurement are
also described.