Normative data for the SF-12 health survey in the Republic of Ireland with comparisons to England

The Short Form 12 health survey is a short, easily completed and psychometrically sound generic measure of health status that can be used to measure population health, patient health perceptions and assess treatment effectiveness. Here, for the first time in the Irish context, population norms for two health summary scales for the Irish population are derived from the SF-12 and compared to norms for the English population. Results show that, although the Irish population is in general both physically and mentally healthier than the English population, the difference in physical health is not significant among men and weakens among both men and women with age