Urdu translation and cross-cultural validation of neurological fatigue index on post stroke

Abstract

Background

The Neurological Fatigue Index (NFI) is the instrument used to evaluate stroke patients’ fatigue. There was no Urdu version of NFI available officially.

Objective

This study aimed to translate the Neurological Fatigue Index into Urdu and to determine the validity and reliability of Urdu NFI among stroke patients.

Methodology

It is a cross-cultural validation study. According to international guidelines in phase I, a process of translation was carried out. In phase II, using the sample of 120 participants, validity and reliability of the Urdu version of the Neurological Fatigue Index scale was conducted. The Urdu version’s content validity, convergent/concurrent validity, test-retest reliability, and internal consistency were determined. The latest version of SPSS was used for the data analysis.

Results

The Urdu version of NFI was drafted after the expert’s review. The content validity index was used to analyze the content validity. The reliability and validity of the Urdu version NFI were evaluated by calculating Cronbach’s alpha (α = 0.86), and intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC = 0.823). Correlations with other scales were the fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) (r = 0.76), Mental Fatigue Scale (MFS) (r = 0.68), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) (r = 0.53) and Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) (r = 0.47).

Conclusion

The Urdu Version was linguistically acceptable for the fatigue assessment in post-stroke patients. It showed good content validity, convergent/concurrent validity, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability.