Cross-sectional study demonstrates high reliability and validity of the General Fatigue Scale in breast cancer patients, indicating its clinical utility for measuring treatment-related fatigue.
BACKGROUND: Fatigue has been described as the most frequent and distressing problem of cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Taiwanese version of the General Fatigue Scale (GFS-T) and to evaluate the severity of the fatigue among breast cancer patients in Taiwan. METHODS: A cross-sectional research design was used, recruiting breast cancer patients from 2 medical centers in Taiwan. Patients completed the scale exploring their GFS-T, the Brief Fatigue Inventory-Taiwan Form, and the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status. The data were collected between the day before the first chemotherapy (T1) and 1 week after the first chemotherapy (T2). RESULTS: A total of 171 patients participated in this study. Cronbach's α for the GFS-T at both time points both were .94. Factor analysis generated 1 factor that accounted for 73.7% of variance in participants' fatigue. The receiver operating characteristic curve analyses suggested that the GFS-T cut-point of 24 had an adequate combination of sensitivity and specificity to distinguish high and low performance status. The receiver operating characteristic curve is 0.67 (95% confidence interval, 0.59-0.75). CONCLUSIONS: The GFS-T is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing fatigue among cancer patients. Further research is needed to better understand predictors of cancer-related fatigue. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The GFS-T can provide clinical nurses with a useful measure to assess fatigue in cancer patients.
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