The psychometric properties of an Arabic version of the PedsQL Multidimensional Fatigue Scale tested for children with cancer

Fatigue is considered to be one of the most reported symptoms experienced by children with cancer. A major aim of this study was to develop an Arabic version of the Pediatric Quality of Life (PedsQL) Multidimensional Fatigue Scale (child report) and to test its psychometric proprieties for the assessment of fatigue in Arabic children with cancer. The PedsQL Multidimensional Fatigue Scale (Arabic version) and the PedsQL TM 4.0 Generic Core scale (existing Arabic version) were completed by 70 Jordanian children with cancer. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were found to be 0.90 for the total PedsQL Multidimensional Fatigue Scale (Arabic version), 0.94 for the general fatigue subscale, 0.67 for the sleep/rest fatigue subscale, and 0.87 for the cognitive fatigue subscale. The PedsQL Multidimensional Fatigue Scale scores correlated significantly with the PedsQL TM 4.0 Generic Core scale and demonstrated good construct validity. The results demonstrate excellent reliability and good validity of the PedsQL Multidimensional Fatigue Scale (Arabic version) for children with cancer. This is the first validated scale that assesses fatigue in Arabic children with cancer. The English scale has been used with several pediatric clinical populations, so this Arabic version may be equally useful beyond the field of cancer