Comparisons between the Nottingham Health Profile and the Short Form-36 for assessing the quality of life of community-dwelling elderly.

Background: The aging population and associated high disability rates make the assessment of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) a high priority for elderly people.

Objectives: To compare the Brazilian versions of the Nottingham Health Profile (NHP) and the Short Form Health Survey-36 (SF-36) regarding their measurement properties, such as, ceiling and floor effects, inter-rater/test-retest reliabilities, internal consistency, and the associations between the total scores and those of similar domains.

Methods: The NHP and the SF-36 were randomly administered through interviews to 40 community-dwelling elderly (mean age 70.