Psychometric Properties of the Arabic Version of the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illnesses Therapy-Fatigue (FACIT-F) in Arabic Cancer Patients.

BACKGROUND: The Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy (FACIT) is a measurement system that was developed to assess the health-related quality of life among patients with cancer and other chronic illnesses. The Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy- Fatigue (FACIT-F) is a 40-item questionnaire, and it is the one of most frequently used instrument to assess fatigue in cancer populations. The aim of the study is to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Arabic FACIT-F among patients diagnosed with cancer.

METHODS: Following a translated and cross-cultural evaluation procedure, of the FACIT-F Arabic version. A cross-sectional and descriptive correlational design was conducted. A total of 369 patients with cancer completed the FACIT-F, which consists of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy - general scale's (FACT-G) 27-items, and the 13-item Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue (FACIT-Fatigue). The scale was assessed in terms of acceptability, internal consistency and validity. Construct validity was explored through confirmatory factor analysis.

RESULTS: The FACT-G had acceptable fit in the four factor model, whereas the FACIT-Fatigue was found to be acceptable for the one-factor model in Arabic patients diagnosed with cancer. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the Arabic FACIT-Fatigue was 0.92, whereas the total score for FACT-G was 0.92, which showed good reliability. There was evidence that discriminate validity analysis was generally very good for the FACIT-Fatigue and FACT-G Arabic versions.

CONCLUSION: The Arabic versions of the FACIT-Fatigue and FACT-G demonstrated good reliability and validity for assessing fatigue and quality of life in patients diagnosed with cancer.