The Short-Form Index of Care (SFI) is a qualitative screening tool for documenting potential care needs associated with observable pathological conditions in archaeological human remains.
It condenses selected elements of the full Index of Care into six questions. The SFI is intended to support a rapid and transparent preliminary assessment and to identify individuals who may warrant further bioarchaeology of care analysis. It does not demonstrate that care was provided and does not replace a full Index of Care assessment.
Instructions
The accompanying template may be used as provided, but researchers are encouraged to adapt and integrate it with their existing documentation systems and available data templates, minimizing data-entry demands and focusing effort on the informed reflection that is central to this assessment.
Complete the questions using the available osteological, archaeological, and contextual evidence. Select the response that best reflects the evidence and record relevant details in the Comments field. Avoid inferring care solely from the presence of pathology.
If the remains or contextual information are inadequate for assessment, select the appropriate Insufficient, Unclear, or Not available option. If Question 1 indicates no observable pathology, or if the remains are insufficient for assessment, proceed directly to R1.
Where several pathologies are present, assess each major condition separately in Questions 2 and 4. Use the final questions to summarize the overall assessment and indicate whether a full bioarchaeology of care analysis would be worthwhile.
Final assessment
In R1, classify the likelihood that the individual required health-related care in response to the observed pathological impacts as Probable, Possible, Unlikely, or Insufficient Evidence.
In R2, rate the value of further analysis on a scale from 1 (no further action recommended) to 5 (strong case for full bioarchaeology of care analysis).
SHORT-FORM INDEX OF CARE TEMPLATE (click to download)
Roberto Sáez, María Edén Fernández Suárez, Alejandro León-Cristóbal, Gustavo David Candela, Lorna Tilley