Effectiveness of an online fatigue self-management programme for people with chronic neurological conditions: a randomized controlled trial

• Published in: Clinical rehabilitation Vol. 24; no. 8; pp. 727 - 744
• Main Authors: Ghahari, Setareh, Leigh Packer, Tanya, Passmore, Anne Elizabeth
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England SAGE Publications 01.08.2010; Sage Publications Ltd
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Chronic Disease; Chronic fatigue syndrome; Chronic illnesses; Clinical trials; Exceptions; Fatigue; Fatigue - etiology; Fatigue - rehabilitation; Female; Humans; Information processing; Internet; Male; Middle Aged; Multiple sclerosis; Multiple Sclerosis - complications; Occupational therapy; Parkinson Disease - complications; Parkinson's disease; Poliomyelitis; Postpolio syndrome; Postpoliomyelitis Syndrome - complications; Research centers; Self Care - methods; Selfmanagement; Social work; Society; Wellbeing; Young Adult; Australia; Perth Western Australia Australia; Conclusions: Although the fatigue self-management group improved over time; results did not demonstrate additional benefit in most outcome measures when compared with the control group
• ISSN: 0269-2155; 1477-0873
• DOI: 10.1177/0269215509360648

Objective: To evaluate an online fatigue self-management programme in a sample of adults with chronic neurological conditions. Design: Randomized controlled trial. Setting: Online fatigue self-management programme delivered across Australia. Participants: Ninety-five people with fatigue secondary to multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease or post-polio syndrome. Interventions: An online fatigue self-management programme, an information-only fatigue self-management programme and a control group. Main measures: Groups were compared at pre test, post test and at three months on primary outcomes using the Fatigue Impact Scale, Activity Card Sort and Personal Wellbeing Index. Results: With the exception of the Personal Wellbeing Index at post test (F = 3.519; P =0.034) and the Physical Subscale of the Fatigue Impact Scale at follow-up (F = 3.473; P =0.035) there were no significant differences between the three groups on primary outcomes. Post-hoc testing showed the differences to be between the information-only and control groups (P = 0.036 and P = 0.030 respectively). Improvement in the information-only group was unexpected but appears to be similar to results of other online interventions. The fatigue self-management and information-only groups performed better than the control on some secondary outcome measures. Low power in the analysis may have contributed to the findings. Repeated-measures ANCOVA showed that the fatigue self-management and the information-only groups improved over time on the Fatigue Impact Scale and the Activity Card Sort (P<0.05). The control group showed no improvements over time.