The revised piper fatigue scale (PFS-R) for Italian cancer patients: a validation study

Fatigue is one of the most frequently reported symptoms by cancer patients. In recent years, much effort has been directed to designing fatigue measures which are psychometrically appropriate as well as easily administered. Among these, the Revised Piper Fatigue Scale (PFS-R) is widely used in assessing fatigue in cancer patients and other populations. Despite its large utilization in different national contexts and with different populations, its structure appears to vary across cultures, suggesting the need for its validation before use. The main aim of the present work was to verify the validity (i.e., dimensional structure and construct validity) and reliability (i.e., internal consistency) of an Italian translation of the PFS-R to reassure Italian oncology practitioners about its appropriate usage in practice and research.

One-hundred ten Italian oncological inpatients were administered an Italian translation of the PFS-R together with a form for the collection of personal identification and clinical data and other fatigue and quality of life measures (POMS and EORTC QLQ-C30) already validated for Italy.

Principal component exploratory factor analysis revealed a four-factor structure quite similar to (although not overlapping) the original described by Piper and colleagues; all four factors proved to be reliable and to correlate with one another and with previous validated measures of fatigue and quality of life. Preliminary descriptive statistics were also provided for data comparisons.

Despite the discussed limitations, PFS-R seems a valid and reliable multidimensional fatigue measure also adequate in Italian oncological settings.