Development and psychometric properties of the PROMIS® pediatric fatigue item banks.

Purpose: This paper reports on the development and psychometric properties of self-reported pediatric fatigue item banks as part of the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS). Methods: Candidate items were developed by using PROMIS qualitative methodology. The resulting 39 items (25 tiredness related and 14 energy related) were field tested in a sample that included 3,048 participants aged 8–17 years. We used confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to evaluate dimensionality and differential item functioning (DIF) analysis to evaluate parameter stability between genders and by age; we examined residual correlations to evaluate local dependence (LD) among items and estimated the parameters of item response theory (IRT) models. Results: Of 3,048 participants, 48 % were males, 60 % were white, and 23 % had at least one chronic condition. CFA results suggest two moderately correlated factors. Two items were removed due to high LD, and three due to gender-based DIF. Two item banks were calibrated separately using IRT: Tired and (Lack of) Energy, which consisted of 23 and 11 items, respectively; 10- and 8-item short-forms were created. Conclusion: The PROMIS assessment of self-reported fatigue in pediatrics includes two item banks: Tired and (Lack of) Energy. Both demonstrated satisfactory psychometric properties and can be used for research settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]