The SIP 68 is a generic health status measure. It measures physical, mental and social aspects of health-related functioning in 6 subscales: somatic autonomy, mobility control, mobility range, social behavior, emotional stability, and psychological autonomy/ communication.  The SIP 68 contains statements regarding behavior “sickness impact” and the individual is asked to respond by checking items that describe their health status. 

Number of items: 68

Procedure/Administration: The SIP 68 can be administered by the interviewer or the client (self-report).  All items are scored dichotomously (no=0, yes=1). 

How scored: The items reported as “yes” are used to calculate the scores. The questions regarding walking are not relevant to wheelchair-dependent individuals and a scoring modification is proposed in such cases – for a “yes” response to the item “I cannot walk at all”, all 7 items related to walking are scored positively. 

Interpretability: Higher scores indicate more health-related behavioral problems (i.e. worse health state). The SIP-68 can be reported as an overall total score, three dimension scores (physical, psychological and social) or six sub-scale scores.  There is published data and norms available for a SCI population, as well as for individuals with other disabilities (Post et al. 2006). 

Acceptability: The SIP 68 is a commonly used health status measure and it is possible to compare results with various patient populations, including those with SCI.  However, the evidence on the psychometric properties of the SIP 68 for a SCI population is limited and more research is needed to assess reliability and responsiveness. 

Languages: English, Dutch

Usability: Minimal burden, but the measure contains walking items that are not relevant for SCI patients.

Time to administer: 15-20 minutes to complete

Time to score: N/a

Training required: N/a

Availability: The SIP 136 version can be obtained from the Medical Outcomes Trust at: http://www.outcomes-trust.org/instruments.htmand the SIP 68 is available in the de Bruin 1994. 

Equipment required: N/a

Summary:

The SIP 68 has been used to assess health-related quality of life of individuals living in the community.  Modifications made to the scoring of the walking/mobility-related items in the SIP 68 make it a suitable tool for this patient population. 

Psychometric Summary

Note: TR= Test re-test; IC= Internal Consistency; Inter-O=Inter-observer; Intra-O=Intra-observer; SS=Sensitivity/Specificity; N/a= No information.

Red light= A single study involving SCI subjects which has less than adequate findings of reliability, validity, and/or responsiveness.

Yellow light= A single study involving subjects with SCI which has adequate to excellent findings of reliability, validity, and/or responsiveness.

Green light= At least 2 studies involving subjects with SCI which have adequate to excellent findings of reliability, validity, and/or responsiveness.

References

• Bergner M, Bobbit R, Carter W, Gilson B. The Sickness Impact Profile: Development and Final Revision of a Health Status Measure. Med Care 1981;8:787-805.
• De Bruin A, Diederiks J, De Witte L, Stevens F, Philipsen H. The Development of a Short Generic Version of the Sickness Impact Profile. J Clin Epidemiol 1994;47:407-418.
• Post M, De Bruin A, De Witte L, Schrijvers A. The SIP68: A Measure of Health-Related Functional Status in rehabilitation Medicine. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 1996;77:440-445.
• Post MW, Gerritsen J, Diederikst JP, DeWittet LP. Measuring health status of people who are wheelchair dependent: validity of the Sickness Impact Profile 68 and the Nottingham Health Profile. Disabil Rehabil 2001;23:245-253.