The Brief Fatigue Inventory
The Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI) is used to rapidly assess the severity and impact of fatigue, including cancer-related fatigue. A growing focus on cancer-related fatigue has emphasized the need for sensitive tools to assess this most frequently reported symptom. The BFI's six interference items correlate with standard quality-of-life measures.
| BFI Fatigue Items | BFI Interference Items |
|---|---|
| Fatigue right now | General activity |
| Usual fatigue in last 24 hours | Mood |
| Worst fatigue in last 24 hours | Walking ability |
| Normal work (including housework) | |
| Relations with other people | |
| Enjoyment of life |
Order the BFI
BFI Features
- Purpose: To assess the severity of fatigue and the impact of fatigue on daily functioning
- Population: Patients with fatigue, including fatigue caused by cancer and cancer treatment
- Assessment Areas: Severity of fatigue and the impact of fatigue on daily functioning in the past 24 hours
- Method: Self-report or interview with research staff; paper-and-pencil or electronic data entry
- Time required: Five minutes
- Scoring: A global fatigue score can be obtained by averaging all the items on the BFI
- Reliability: Cronbach alpha reliability ranges from 0.82 to 0.97
BFI Language Versions
Click on a linked language to view a sample in PDF format.
Don't see a language you need? Contact us at symptomresearch@mdanderson.org.
| Psychometrically and Linguistically Validated | Linguistically Validated |
|---|---|
| Chinese (Simplified) | Afrikaans |
| Chinese (Traditional) | Arabic |
| English | Bengali |
| Filipino | Bosnian/Herzegovinian |
| German | Bulgarian |
| Greek | Cebuano |
| Indonesian | Croatian |
| Italian | Czech |
| Japanese | Danish |
| Korean | Dutch |
| Russian | Finnish |
| French | |
| Georgian | |
| Gujarati | |
| Hebrew | |
| Hiligaynon |
|
| Hindi | |
| Hungarian | |
| Ilocano | |
| Indonesian | |
| Kannada | |
| Latvian | |
| Lithuanian | |
| Malay | |
| Malayalam | |
| Marathi | |
| N. Sotho | |
| Norwegian | |
| Oriya | |
| Polish | |
| Portuguese (Brazil) | |
| Portuguese (Portugal) | |
| Punjabi | |
| Romanian | |
| Serbian | |
| Slovak | |
| Spanish | |
| Swedish | |
| Taiwanese | |
| Tamil | |
| Telegu | |
| Thai | |
| Turkish | |
| Ukrainian | |
| Urdu | |
| Vietnamese | |
| Xhosa | |
| Zulu |
Selected BFI References
Validation
Mendoza T, Wang XS, Cleeland CS, et al. . Cancer 85: 1186-1196, 1999.
Lorca LA, Sacomori C, Puga B. Rev Med Chil 144(7): 894-899, 2016.
Mendoza TR, Laudico AV, Wang XS, et al. . Oncology 79(1-2): 112-117, 2010.
Mystakidou K, Tsilika E, Parpa E, et al. . J Pain Symptom Manage 36(4): 367-373, 2008.
Lin CC, Chang AP, Chen ML, Cleeland CS, Mendoza TR, Wang XS. . J Pain Symptom Manage 32(1): 52-59, 2006.
Yun YH, Wang XS, Lee JS, et al. . J Pain Symptom Manage 29(2): 165-172, 2005.
Wang XS, Hao XS, Wang Y, et al. . J Pain Symptom Manage 27(4): 322-332, 2004.
Okuyama T, Wang XS, Akechi T, et al. . J Pain Symptom Manage 25(2): 106-117, 2003.
Radbruch L, Sabatowski R, Elsner F, Everts J, Mendoza T, Cleeland C. . J Pain Symptom Manage 25(5): 449-458, 2003.
Valenzuela JO, Gning I, Irarrazaval ME, et al. Psychometric validation of the Spanish version of the Brief Fatigue Inventory [abstract]. Â鶹ӳ» MD Anderson Cancer Center, Division of Internal Medicine Research Retreat, Houston TX, May 24, 2012.
Ionova TI, Novik AA, Manikhas GV, et al. Validation of Russian versions of Brief Pain Inventory (BPI-R), Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI-R) and MD Anderson Symptom Inventory (MDASI-R) to assess symptoms in cancer patients [abstract]. International Society for Quality of Life Research 10th Annual Conference, Prague, Czech Republic, Nov 12-15, 2003. Qual Life Res 12(7): 798, 2003; 1561.
Clinical Application
Escalante CP, Meyers C, Reuben JM, et al. . Cancer J 20(1): 8-14, 1/2014.
Sternberg CN, Molina A, North S, et al. . Ann Oncol 24(4): 1017-1025, 4/2013.
Shelton ML, Lee JQ, Morris GS, et al. . Psychooncology 18(4): 353-359, 2009.
Park HC, Janjan NA, Mendoza TR, et al. . Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 75(3): 775-781, 11/2009.
Yun YH, Lee MK, Chun HN, et al. . J Pain Symptom Manage 36(3): 259-267, 2008.
Chang YJ, Lee JS, Lee CG, et al. . Support Care Cancer 15(7): 891-896, 2007.
Anderson KO, Getto CJ, Mendoza TR, et al. . J Pain Symptom Manage 25(4): 307-318, 2003.
Wang XS, Janjan NA, Guo H, et al. . Cancer 92(6 Suppl): 1725-1732, 2001.
Fatigue is the symptom most frequently reported by cancer patients. It is often the most distressing symptom, and it causes the most interference with daily living.
Tito R. Mendoza, Ph.D., M.Ed.
Associate Professor, Symptom Research