Test-retest reliability of EORTC QLQ FA 13 instrument for fatigue assessment in oncological patients

Abstract Objective To verify the test-retest stability of the EORTC QLQ FA 13 instrument in the Brazilian Portuguese version through the semantic equivalence process, including the equivalence phase of measurement that covers psychometric studies. Methods The instrument was applied in 163 patients undergoing cancer treatment in the clinical and surgical infirmaries of a highly complex hospitallocated in the city of Rio de Janeiro between March 2015 and October 2016 through a questionnaire applied in an individual interview. In order to test the suitability of the measurement process, participants were requested to answer the questionnaire a second time after and interval of 7 to 15 days. Results Among participantsed, 50 (30.67%) also adhered to retest. There was good understanding of the instrument at the test stage. The responses were stable, and the estimates of test-retest reliability varied from good to excellent (kappa = 0.66 to 0.80), either for items or for scale dimensions. Conclusion The present study and other previous steps of reliability of the instrument suggest a high stability of the information collected, which makes its applicability in the Brazilian population useful for improving the quality of care of cancer patients.

摘要 目的：验证巴西葡萄牙语版本EORTC QLQ FA13量表通过语义等价流程（涵盖心理测量学研究的测量等价阶段）的重测稳定性。方法：本研究于2015年3月至2016年10月间，在位于里约热内卢市的一家高复杂度医院的临床与外科病房中，通过一对一访谈式问卷，对163名接受癌症治疗的患者施测该量表。为验证测量流程的适用性，要求受试者在7至15天的间隔后再次完成该问卷。结果：参与本研究的受试者中，共有50名（30.67%）完成了重测。施测阶段，受试者对该量表的理解度良好。问卷作答结果具备稳定性，无论是针对条目还是量表维度，其重测信度估计值均介于良好至优秀水平（kappa值为0.66~0.80）。结论：本研究及该量表此前的信度验证工作均表明，所收集的信息具备高度稳定性，因此该量表可适用于巴西人群，有助于提升癌症患者的照护质量。