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PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To present a reconceptualization of fatigue. DATA SOURCES: Studies indexed in CINAHL, MEDLINE, PubMed, Psyc INFO, SPORTDiscus, and CancerLit from 1995-2004; studies included in the bibliographies of indexed articles; and five qualitative studies conducted by the author. DATA SYNTHESIS: Tiredness and exhaustion are conceptually distinct from fatigue. All three concepts are located along an adaptational continuum in a manner consistent with stress theory. CONCLUSIONS: Interventions should focus on the elimination or reduction of stressors and the increase of patients' resistance to stressors. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: Interventions that prevent or delay progression from tiredness to fatigue will be different from those that prevent or delay progression from fatigue to exhaustion.
Kärin Olson (Mon,) studied this question.