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FREE-IA

Fatigue - Reducing its Effects through individualised support Episodes in Inflammatory Arthritis (FREE-IA): A Feasibility Study for a Randomised Controlled Trial 

Chief Investigator

Institution

Dates

Funding Stream

Grant Ref

Amount

Dr Emma Dures

University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust and University of the West of England, Bristol

01/06/2018-31/05/2020

(24 months)

NIHR Research for Patient Benefit (RfPB)

PB-PG-1216-20014

£248,079

Summary

Inflammatory arthritis describes a group of long-term conditions that affect the immune system. Around one in 12 women and one in 20 men will develop inflammatory arthritis during their lifetime. Symptoms include pain, stiffness, joint damage and fatigue.

In inflammatory arthritis, fatigue is the main reason for work disability and is associated with high healthcare costs. Patients describe fatigue as disabling, distressing and overwhelming. They consistently report that they need help to deal with it.

Rheumatology nurses and occupational therapists (OTs) who provide patient care recognise that fatigue is a problem, but do not know how to help. Previously, we developed a self-management programme that can reduce the effects of fatigue. However, it is lengthy and requires patients to

attend six group sessions of two hours each and nurses/OTs to run a separate service.

In our experience, almost 40% of patients find it a challenge to attend such a lengthy programme. Therefore we have developed FREE-IA (Fatigue - Reducing its Effects through individualised support Episodes in Inflammatory Arthritis). FREE-IA comprises 2-4 sessions of 20-30 minutes, and can be used in routine consultations. It is designed to help patients' identify influences on their fatigue and to manage their activity accordingly. FREE-IA is less demanding in the number and length of sessions, is individualised, and has the potential to be accessible to large numbers of patients.

We need to know:

  • Can we train nurses/OTs to use FREE-IA in routine consultations?
  • Is FREE-IA acceptable to patients?
  • Can we collect research data from patients about their fatigue?

If this is possible, we will apply for funding to test whether FREE-IA reduces the effects of patients' fatigue and healthcare costs, compared to usual support.

FREE-IA has the potential to benefit patients by offering accessible support for a symptom that causes high levels of distress.