[Validation of the Spanish version of the HIV Related Fatigue Scale and application in people with hepatitis C]

To validate the American fatigue scale HIV-Related Fatigue Scale (HRFS) and present the Spanish version called Integrated Fatigue Assessment Scale to assess fatigue in HCV and co-infected patients.

Psychometric study with cross-sectional design was used. The HRFS was translated into Spanish using the back-translation method-later to be validated. Participants completed the questionnaire adapted to a self-report form, as well as a sociodemographic questionnaire. The reliability and validity of the Spanish version was evaluated.

A total of 7 public service hospitals and two prisons in Catalonia participated in the evaluation. The sample consisted of 122 subjects selected by consecutive sampling in the fourth week of treatment of hepatitis C with combination therapy or triple therapy. The Cronbach alpha for the total scale was 0.958. Content Validity Index (I-CVI) varied from 0.5 to 1. Validity Scale Content-level (S-CVI) was 0.85. Pearson correlations between the three dimensions were between 0.49 and 0.68.

The process followed for the cultural adaptation and validation shows that the Spanish version of the HRFS) is a valid and reliable instrument that can be used in clinical practice and in the investigation of fatigue in patients with hepatitis C.