Psychometric testing of three Chinese fatigue instruments in Taiwan

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.