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The Psychometric Properties of an Arabic version of the PedsQL Multidimensional Fatigue Scale Tested for Children
Ekhlas Al-Gamal1,2, Tony Long3
1a Faculty of Nursing , The University of Jordan , Amman , Jordan.
Insights
This study validated an Arabic version of the Pediatric Quality of Life (PedsQL) Multidimensional Fatigue Scale for children with cancer. The new scale demonstrates excellent reliability and good validity for assessing childhood cancer-related fatigue in Arabic-speaking populations.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Oncology
- Psychometrics
- Quality of Life Research
Background:
- Fatigue is a prevalent symptom in pediatric cancer patients.
- Accurate assessment of fatigue is crucial for managing quality of life in these children.
- Existing tools may not be suitable for Arabic-speaking populations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate an Arabic version of the Pediatric Quality of Life (PedsQL) Multidimensional Fatigue Scale (child report).
- To assess the psychometric properties of the Arabic PedsQL Multidimensional Fatigue Scale for children with cancer.
Main Methods:
- Translation and adaptation of the PedsQL Multidimensional Fatigue Scale into Arabic.
- Administration of the Arabic PedsQL Multidimensional Fatigue Scale and the Arabic PedsQL 4.0 Generic Core Scale to 70 Jordanian children with cancer.
- Psychometric analysis including reliability (Cronbach's alpha) and construct validity testing.
Main Results:
- The Arabic PedsQL Multidimensional Fatigue Scale demonstrated high reliability (Cronbach's alpha = 0.90 for total scale).
- Subscales showed good reliability (General Fatigue: 0.94, Cognitive Fatigue: 0.87) and acceptable reliability (Sleep/Rest Fatigue: 0.67).
- The scale showed significant correlations with the PedsQL 4.0 Generic Core Scale, indicating good construct validity.
Conclusions:
- The Arabic version of the PedsQL Multidimensional Fatigue Scale is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing fatigue in Arabic-speaking children with cancer.
- This represents the first validated scale for measuring fatigue in this population.
- The scale holds potential utility for pediatric populations beyond cancer in Arabic-speaking regions.
Abstract:
Fatigue is considered to be one of the most reported symptoms experienced by children with cancer. A major aim of this study was to develop an Arabic version of the Pediatric Quality of Life (PedsQL) Multidimensional Fatigue Scale (child report) and to test its psychometric proprieties for the assessment of fatigue in Arabic children with cancer. The PedsQL Multidimensional Fatigue Scale (Arabic version) and the PedsQL TM 4.0 Generic Core scale (existing Arabic version) were completed by 70 Jordanian children with cancer. Cronbach's alpha coefficients were found to be 0.90 for the total PedsQL Multidimensional Fatigue Scale (Arabic version), 0.94 for the general fatigue subscale, 0.67 for the sleep/rest fatigue subscale, and 0.87 for the cognitive fatigue subscale. The PedsQL Multidimensional Fatigue Scale scores correlated significantly with the PedsQL TM 4.0 Generic Core scale and demonstrated good construct validity. The results demonstrate excellent reliability and good validity of the PedsQL Multidimensional Fatigue Scale (Arabic version) for children with cancer. This is the first validated scale that assesses fatigue in Arabic children with cancer. The English scale has been used with several pediatric clinical populations, so this Arabic version may be equally useful beyond the field of cancer.
