Psychometric Properties of the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory in Brazilian Hodgkin's Lymphoma Survivors

• Published in: Journal of pain and symptom management Vol. 44; no. 6; pp. 908 - 915
• Main Authors: Baptista, Renata Lyrio R., MD, Biasoli, Irene, MD, Scheliga, Adriana, MD, Soares, Andrea, MD, Brabo, Eloa, MD, Morais, José Carlos, MD, Werneck, Guilherme Loureiro, MD, Spector, Nelson, MD
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Elsevier Inc 01.12.2012; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Anesthesia & Perioperative Care; Biological and medical sciences; Brazil - epidemiology; Brazilian people; Cancer-related fatigue; Fatigue; Fatigue - classification; Fatigue - diagnosis; Fatigue - epidemiology; Female; Hematologic and hematopoietic diseases; Hodgkin Disease - diagnosis; Hodgkin Disease - epidemiology; Hodgkin's lymphoma survivors; Humans; Leukemias. Malignant lymphomas. Malignant reticulosis. Myelofibrosis; Lymphoma; Male; Medical sciences; Mental fatigue; Middle Aged; Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory; Pain Medicine; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Prevalence; Psychometric properties; Psychometrics - methods; Psychometrics - statistics & numerical data; Reproducibility of Results; Risk Assessment; Sensitivity and Specificity; Severity of Illness Index; Surveys and Questionnaires; Survivors; Survivors - statistics & numerical data; transcultural validation; Young Adult; South America; Brazil; America; Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory; transcultural validation; Cancer-related fatigue; psychometric properties; Hodgkin's lymphoma survivors; Human; Validation; Survivor; Fatigue; Hodgkin disease; Psychometrics; Malignant hemopathy; Malignant tumor; Lymphoma; Lymphoproliferative syndrome; Inventory; Cancer
• ISSN: 0885-3924; 1873-6513
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2011.12.275

Abstract Context Fatigue is the most common symptom among Hodgkin's lymphoma survivors. Objectives To evaluate the psychometric properties of the Brazilian version of the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI). Methods The MFI was translated into Brazilian Portuguese using established forward-backward translation procedures, and the psychometric properties were evaluated in a sample of 200 Hodgkin's lymphoma survivors. The psychometric properties evaluated included internal consistency and construct validity. The MFI was administered along with the informed consent form. Results The overall Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the 20 items was 0.84, ranging from 0.59 to 0.81 for each of the five scales. Correlations between items and scales ranged from 0.32 to 0.72. The factor analysis yielded a five-factor solution that explained 65% of the variance. The first factor merged the original “general fatigue” and “physical fatigue” scales, as has been previously reported. The second factor identified the original “mental fatigue” scale and the fifth factor identified the original “reduced activity” scale. Questions from the original “reduced motivation” scale were represented in both factors three and four. Conclusion The Brazilian version of the MFI showed satisfactory psychometric properties and can be considered a valid research tool for assessing cancer-related fatigue.