ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: 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. METHOD: 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. RESULTS: 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. CONCLUSIONS: 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.
