The Need for Recovery scale (NFR) assesses early symptoms of work-related fatigue. It is based on the daily recovery process from short-term fatigue, considering rest opportunities during and after the workday. If recovery is insufficient, symptoms may persist and accumulate over time. Structural analysis have shown that the scale consists of seven items. However, the construct validity of the seven-item NFR (NFR-7) has not yet been tested in Brazilian workers, only its 11-item version has been evaluated.

To assess the construct validity of the NFR-7 in hospital workers.

This cross-sectional study involved the simultaneous application of the NFR-7 (scored from 0 to 100%) and the Borg CR-10 Scale via an online form to a convenience sample of healthcare workers. The sample consisted of 48 healthcare workers in both clinical and administrative roles at a university hospital. Participants were invited via institutional email, social media announcements, and internal hospital communication channels. The Spearman correlation test was used to assess the correlation between the two scales. A correlation of = 0.10 was considered small, = 0.10 and < 0.50 moderate, and = 0.50 high. The significance level of 0.05 was adopted. Statistical analysis was conducted using R software v4.2.0 (R Core Team, 2022) with the ‘stats’ package.

The mean age of the sample was 40 ± 6.8 years, with a majority of participants being female (66%), white (73%), and married (60%). The mean NFR-7 score was 44 ± 21%, and the mean Borg Scale score was 4.0 ± 2.4. A high and significant correlation was found between NFR-7 and Borg Scale (r = 0.62; 95% CI: 0.41, 0.77; p < 0.001).

The NFR-7 demonstrated construct validity for use among healthcare workers.

The NFR-7 version is a valid tool for occupational health services and research in worker health. However, further studies with larger samples and additional evaluations of its measurement properties are needed.