Cancer-related fatigue measures in palliative care: A psychometric systematic review

In palliative care, the prevention and relief of fatigue are regarded as crucial goals in patients with cancer.

A systematic review was carried out according to the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health status Measurement INstruments methodology. Searches were conducted in Medline (through PubMed), Web of Science, Open Gray, Scielo, Cochrane, CINAHL and EMBASE. All instruments found in each study were assessed using the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health status Measurement INstruments checklist and Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation approach.

A total of 5598 articles were identified in the different databases. In total, 57 studies describing 19 instruments were included in this study. The main properties evaluated were internal consistency, cross-cultural validity, hypotheses testing and responsiveness. All studies were evaluated with the Strobe scale with a score greater than 6 points.

According to the quality methodological results, Edmonton Symptom Assessment System, Problems and Needs in Palliative Care Questionnaire, European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life 15-item Questionnaire for Palliative Care and Palliative Care Quality of Life Instrument are the recommended instruments used for assessing cancer-related fatigue in palliative care. PROPESRO registration number: CRD42020206783.