Parkinson’s disease (PD) is one of the most common chronic degenerative diseases of the nervous system. In PD, nonmotor symptoms are seen as frequently as motor symptoms. Fatigue can occur in all stages of PD and leads to significant disabilities. The aim of this study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the Turkish version of Parkinson fatigue scale (PFS). Ninety-six patients with idiopathic PD were included in this study with a cross-sectional and test–retest design. Structural validity, internal consistency and test–retest reliability of PFS were analyzed. For convergent validity, fatigue severity scale and modified fatigue impact scale were used. Internal consistency was determined by the Cronbach’s α coefficient. For test–retest reliability, PFS was repeated after a 7–14-day period. Significant strong correlations were found between the PFS and the fatigue severity scale (r s=0.844) and the modified fatigue impact scale (r s=0.764), which indicate a high convergent validity. The Cronbach’s α coefficient, which indicates the internal consistency of the scale, was calculated as 0.947. The test–retest reliability was found to be high (intraclass correlation coefficient=0.928). This study suggests that the Turkish version of PFS is valid and reliable. PFS is suitable for use by researchers and healthcare professionals to assess fatigue in Turkish-speaking patients with PD.

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Background The aim of this study is to determine the frequency of use, reasons for satisfaction and improvement in health after use of traditional and complementary medicine (TCM) and non-medical practices. Methods Patients and their relatives, aged 18 or above, who admitted to the hospital, were included to the study. The history of using the traditional and complementary practices of the participants was questioned. Results Of 305 volunteers, 191 (62.6%) individuals received at least one of the TCM and non-medical practices due to various health problems. 139 (72.8%) of them applied due to the neuromusculoskeletal system problems. The most preferred practices of the 139 participants were cupping therapy (43.8%), using herbal products (35.2%), using drugs without the advice of a physician (35.2%), and osteopathy (13.6%). 71.2% of the participants stated that their health status was better after these practices, 79.9% were satisfied with the practice, 69.8% stated that they could recommend these practices to other people and 51.1% stated that they have paid for these practices. Conclusions In our study, it was determined that TCM and non-medical practices were frequently preferred. Data we obtained indicate that the demand for TCM and non-medical practices will continue to increase and it has a potential value for health professionals. This situation also indicates that all healthcare professionals should increase their basic knowledge of TCM and non-medical practices.

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