Psychometric evaluation of a Chinese version of the Lee Fatigue Scale-Short Form in women during pregnancy and postpartum

BackgroundFatigue is among the most prevalent and distressing symptoms in pregnant and postpartum women. Estimating fatigue severity with a psychometrically sound instrument provides the most fundamental information for understanding women's fatigue experience and assessing the need for intervention to improve maternal and infant health outcomes.ObjectivesTo evaluate the psychometric properties of a Chinese version of the 7-item Lee Fatigue Scale-Short Form (C-LFS-SF) in pregnant and postpartum women.MethodsThe study was composed of two phases: translation of the scale into Chinese and examination of content validity, and testing to establish the reliability and validity. A convenience sample of 124 women completed health-related questionnaires, kept a fatigue diary and wore a wrist actigraph for 7 days during the third trimester of pregnancy and within three months postpartum.ResultsThe C-LFS-SF showed satisfactory internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha ≥ .97) and stability over the 7 days at each time point (intraclass correlation coefficient > .87). Exploratory factor analysis showed that 88–94% of the total variance was explained by the one-factor fatigue model. Significant associations among the C-LFS-SF and actigraphic sleep quantity and quality variables supported adequate construct validity.ConclusionsThe C-LFS-SF has satisfactory psychometric properties and is an easy and promising tool for assessing maternal fatigue during routine prenatal and postpartum care. This scale needs to be further tested in a more diverse population of pregnant and postpartum women, like women with high risk pregnancies or with medical conditions.