Guided graded Exercise Self-help for chronic fatigue syndrome: patient experiences and perceptions

Cheshire, Anna, Ridge, Damien, Clark, Lucy ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7162-0512 and White, Peter (2020) Guided graded Exercise Self-help for chronic fatigue syndrome: patient experiences and perceptions. Disability and Rehabilitation, 42 (3). pp. 368-377. ISSN 0963-8288

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Abstract

Purpose: This study explored patient experiences of Guided graded Exercise Self-help (GES) delivered as part of a randomised controlled trial for people with chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis. The trial found that GES was better than specialist medical care at reducing fatigue and improving physical functioning. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with patients reporting improvement (n = 9) and deterioration (n = 10), and analysis involved thematic “constant comparison.” Results: The improved group described more facilitators to doing GES, and were more likely to describe high levels of self-motivation, whereas the deteriorated group described more barriers to GES (including worse exacerbation of symptoms after GES, greater interference from comorbid conditions, and obstacles to GES in their lives), and had been ill for longer. Having the capacity to do GES was important; of note, those with relatively lower levels of functioning sometimes had more time and space in their lives to support their GES engagement. We identified an important “indeterminate phase” early on, in which participants did not initially improve. Conclusions: GES may be improved by targeting those most likely to improve, and teaching about the indeterminate phase.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: chronic fatigue syndrome,myalgic encephalomyelitis,graded exercise therapy,randomised controlled trial,qualitative
Faculty \ School: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > School of Health Sciences
UEA Research Groups: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Health Promotion
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Norwich Clinical Trials Unit
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Centres > Population Health
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Depositing User: LivePure Connector
Date Deposited: 01 Aug 2018 16:30
Last Modified: 06 Jun 2024 15:03
URI: https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/67937
DOI: 10.1080/09638288.2018.1499822

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