Content validity and psychometric evaluation of Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue in patients with psoriatic arthritis.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

To evaluate the measurement properties (e.g., content validity, reliability, and ability to detect change) of the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy (FACIT)-Fatigue scale in patients with active psoriatic arthritis (PsA).

METHODS:

One-on-one semi-structured qualitative interviews with adult patients with active PsA evaluated the content validity of FACIT-Fatigue. Quantitative measurement properties were evaluated using data from phase III tofacitinib randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in PsA: OPAL Broaden (NCT01877668) and OPAL Beyond (NCT01882439).

RESULTS:

Of 12 patients included in the qualitative study, 2 (17%) had mild, 8 (67%) had moderate, and 2 (17%) had severe PsA disease activity; 7 (58%) attributed fatigue to PsA, and 7 (58%) rated fatigue as important or extremely important. Most patients considered the FACIT-Fatigue items relevant to their PsA experience, and understood item content and response options as intended. In the psychometric analysis of RCT data, a second-order confirmatory factor model fit the data well (Bentler's Comparative Fit Index ≥0.92). FACIT-Fatigue demonstrated good internal consistency (Cronbach's coefficient α ≥ 0.90), test-retest reliability (Intraclass Correlation Coefficient ≥ 0.80) and a strong correlation with SF-36 Vitality (r > 0.80). A robust relationship between disease activity (based on Patient's Global Assessment of Psoriasis and Arthritis) and FACIT-Fatigue was observed (effect sizes > 1.4), with clinically important difference for the FACIT-Fatigue total score estimated as 3.1 points, and the responder definition estimated as a 4-point improvement for FACIT-Fatigue total score.

CONCLUSION:

Fatigue was confirmed to be an important symptom to patients with PsA, and FACIT-Fatigue was found to be a reliable and valid measure in this population.

• Authors: David Cella, Hilary Wilson, Huda Shalhoub, Dennis A Revicki, Joseph C Cappelleri, Andrew G Bushmakin, Elizabeth Kudlacz, Ming-Ann Hsu
• Journal: Journal of patient-reported outcomes (J Patient Rep Outcomes) Vol. 3 Issue 1 Pg. 30 (05 20 2019) ISSN: 2509-8020 [Electronic] Germany
• PMID: 31111255 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Corrected and Republished Article)