Psychometric testing of three Chinese fatigue instruments in Taiwan

J Pain Symptom Manage. 2006 Aug;32(2):155-67. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2006.02.011.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties (reliabilities and validities) and ease of use of three translated fatigue instruments: Chinese versions of the Cancer Fatigue Scale, the Fatigue Symptom Inventory (FSI), and the Schwartz Cancer Fatigue Scale-revised. Convenience sampling was used to recruit 243 cancer outpatients at a chemotherapy treatment center in Taiwan. The results indicated that the three scales had good internal consistency (Cronbach's alphas for three total scales > 0.80) and were brief (less than 6 minutes to complete), valid (confirmed by convergent, divergent, and discriminant validity), and feasible measures (completion rates > 97%) of fatigue for use with Taiwanese cancer patients. However, 27% of cancer patients reported that the FSI was difficult for them to complete. Differences in factorial validity between each original scale and its Chinese version indicate a need for further testing in Taiwan.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Evaluation Study
  • Validation Study

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Antineoplastic Agents / therapeutic use
  • China
  • Fatigue / classification
  • Fatigue / diagnosis*
  • Fatigue / epidemiology*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Neoplasms / classification
  • Neoplasms / diagnosis*
  • Neoplasms / drug therapy
  • Neoplasms / epidemiology*
  • Psychometrics / methods*
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Severity of Illness Index*
  • Surveys and Questionnaires*
  • Taiwan / epidemiology

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents