Fatigue among South African adolescents living with HIV
Is the Chalder Fatigue Questionnaire a suitable measure and how common is fatigue
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12893328 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Bronwyne J Coetzee (0000-0003-1545-418X, Stellenbosch University, corresponding author), Maria E Loades (0000-0002-0839-3190, University of Bath), Stefani Du Toit (0000-0001-7947-3043, Stellenbosch University), Rebecca Read (0000-0002-6437-5958, University of Bath), Ashraf Kagee (0000-0003-1241-2566, Stellenbosch University) |
| Year | 2018 |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 305-316 |
| Publication date | 2018-08-20 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1745-0136 • E-ISSN: 1745-0128 |
| Publisher | Routledge (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/17450128.2018.1510147 |
| PMID | 32587628 |
| OpenAlex | W2888349789 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 35 |
Evidence suggests that HIV-infected adolescents experience elevated levels of fatigue that impacts their functioning at school and other important aspects of their lives. Yet, fatigue has not been measured amongst this population group. In this cross-sectional, mixed-methods study we explored the psychometric properties of the 11-item Chalder Fatigue Questionnaire (CFQ) amongst 134 South African adolescents (11-18 years old) receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) in the Western Cape. Using the Likert scoring method for the CFQ, the mean total score was 14.89 (SD=3.83) and about a quarter (n=33, 24.63%) of adolescents scored ≥ 18, indicating problematic levels of fatigue. The CFQ demonstrated good internal consistency with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.83 (0.84, with item 11 deleted), which is comparable to other validation studies. On the first iteration of the principal component analysis (PCA) with a Varimax rotation, three factors accounted for 59.15% of the variance. However, the third factor consisted of one item only which we chose to remove from the analysis. On the second iteration of the PCA, a two factor solution was retained that accounted for 54.24% of the variance. The first factor, 'Physical fatigue', represented the first eight items on the scale. The second factor 'Mental fatigue' represented items nine and ten. The CFQ also demonstrated modest content and construct validity. The CFQ is a short, easy-to-use and cost-effective measure of fatigue, and demonstrates reliability and validity amongst a South African sample of adolescents. Given the high rate of fatigue amongst our participants, we recommend that future interventions be developed to reduce fatigue among HIV-infected adolescents, which may ultimately lead to improvements in school performance and social functioning. Future research may include test-retest reliability of the CFQ in order to show stability over time
Construct validity · Cronbach's alpha · Environmental health · Physical therapy · Population · Psychiatry · Psychometrics · Varimax rotation · Adolescent and Pediatric Healthcare · Child Nutrition and Feeding Issues · Childhood Cancer Survivors' Quality of Life · Clinical Psychology · Medicine · Psychology
Content analysis
Development of a fatigue scale
Psychometric properties of the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale in a clinical sample
An item selection procedure to maximise scale reliability and validity
Factor analysis in the development and refinement of clinical assessment instruments.
‘ … But i’m still tired’
The association of HIV/Aids treatment side effects with health status, work productivity, and resource use
The PedsQLTM
To be or not to be sick and tired
| Citations per year | 0.43 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2019 - 2024 (6) |
| Highly cited | No |