Turkish validity and reliability of the occupational fatigue exhaustion / recovery scale

Abstract

This study aims to conduct the Turkish reliability and validity study of The Occupational Fatigue Exhaustion Recovery Scale (OFER) for determining the occupational fatigue for the shift workers and to assess the relationship between occupational fatigue and sleep. Methods: The study was a methodological study conducted between January and February 2018 with 302 workers in Sanlıurfa Organized Industrial Zone. The Occupational Fatigue Exhaustion Recovery Scale (OFER) and Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) were used to assess occupational fatigue, and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used to evaluate sleep quality. In the Turkish adaptation of The Occupational Fatigue Exhaustion Recovery Scale, the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was found as reliable in the internal consistency in chronic fatigue (85), acute fatigue (.67) and recovery (.68) subscales. It was determined as good in test-retest reliability in all the subgroups compared to ICC test (2,1). It was found that the factor loads, which accounted for 63.2% of the scale in the descriptive variance analysis, were between the values of .600 and .830. A moderate positive correlation was determined between sleep quality and chronic fatigue (r=.300) and between sleep quality and acute fatigue (r=.331); whereas, a moderate negative correlation was determined between sleep quality and recovery (r=-.380) (p<.05). Occupational Fatigue Scale was found to be valid and reliable for Turkish in evaluating the occupational fatigue in employees working in shifts. The training planned to reduce fatigue of workers and enhance their sleep quality will reduce the health-related risk factors for workers and therefore make a significant contribution in preventing occupational accidents.