Background:

Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) is understood as a multidimensional variable, mostly measured using the SF-12 questionnaire. However, this measurement doesn't always replicate the factorial structure theoretically expected, hindering potential conclusions.

Aim:

To assess the reliability and validity of SF-12 questionnaire in a representative sample of Chilean participants.

Material and Methods:

Information was obtained from the National Quality of Life Survey performed in Chile during 2015-16. During the survey, SF-12 was answered by 7041 participants older than 15 years, with a median age of 47 years (63% women).

Results:

SF-12 has reliability, but it does not have construct validity. The analysis suggests that there is a factorial structure that resembles theory, only when factors and items are related.

Conclusions:

The practical importance of these results highlight the need to measure HRQoL using more extensive scales.