Objective: The objective of this presentation is to describe a unique approach for clarifying the concept of fatigue.
Rationale Concepts appear in different forms in different contexts. By sampling various groups with different characteristics, and comparing the resulting data, I was able to identify the essential characteristics of fatigue, removing contextual influences.
Method: Ethnoscience methods were used in each group, including interviews, field notes, and card sorts. Adults were recruited from groups experiencing fatigue for different reasons. These groups included illness (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, n=15, cancer, n=12, palliative care, n=6), and work (shift workers, n=12). Participants experiencing depression and recreational distance runners will be recruited shortly.
Findings: Across all groups, fatigue was characterized by a common set of unique muscular, cognitive, somatic, emotional, and social patterns. These patterns were distinct from those that characterized tiredness and exhaustion but were linked to these concepts in a manner consistent with stress theory. Group comparisons also facilitated the identification of attributes, historically considered to be characteristic of fatigue, that were present in only some of the populations; These attributes have been removed from our conceptual definition.
Conclusions: In order to maximize the utility of conceptual frameworks for the development of nursing interventions, the concepts must be free of contextual “noise.” By purposefully sampling and comparing groups, one is able to strip away those characteristics not common to all populations and to identify the boundaries of key concepts.
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