The assessment of fatigue - A practical guide for clinicians and
researchers

Journal of Psychosomatic Research , Volume 56, Issue 2 ,
February 2004, Pages 157-170

A. J. Dittner [a], S. C. Wessely [b] and R. G. Brown [a],[*]

[a] Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College
London, London, UK
[b] Academic Department of Psychological Medicine, Guy's King's and St.
Thomas' School of Medicine, London, UK

[*] Corresponding author. P077, Department of Psychology, Institute of
Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF, UK. Tel.:
+44-20-7848-0773; fax: +44-20-7848-5006.

Available online 4 March 2004.


Abstract
Objectives: Fatigue is a common feature of physical and neurological
disease as well as psychiatric disorders, often reported amongst
patients' most severe and distressing symptoms. A large number of scales
have been developed attempting to measure the nature, severity and impact
of fatigue in a range of clinical populations. The aim of the present
review is to guide the clinician and researcher in choosing a scale to
suit their needs.

Methods: Database searches of Medline, PsycINFO and EMBASE were
undertaken to find published scales.

Results: Details of 30 scales are reported. These vary greatly in how
widely they have been used and how well they have been evaluated. The
present review describes the scales and their properties and provides
illustrations of their use in published studies.

Conclusions: Recommendations are made for the selection of a scale and
for the development and validation of new and existing scales.

Author Keywords: Author Keywords: Measurement; Instrument; Scale;
Psychometric; Severity; Impact


Copyright © 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.