S.P.45 ENERGETIC, a multidisciplinary self-management group program for reconditioning and managing fatigue

Abstract

<h2>Abstract</h2> Persons with neurological disorders may experience fatigue and secondary physical de-conditioning. A multidisciplinary team developed a client-centred self-management group program including several components: aerobic training; education about training; education on managing fatigue and implementation of training and energy conservation strategies in daily life. The aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of this individually tailored group program. An uncontrolled pilot study with pre-post and follow up (after 3months) measurements was carried out. Participants had a neurological condition, suffered from lack of energy and were motivated to participate in the 15weeks program. Measurement instruments included Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM), Six Minutes Walking Test (6MWT)), Checklist Individual Strength (CIS), and SF-36. Two groups were evaluated, including 13 participants with different neurological disorders (different neuromuscular disorders <i>n</i>=10, multiple sclerosis <i>n</i>=2, stroke <i>n</i>=1). There was a significant improvement following the program on the COPM performance and COPM satisfaction scores, on the CIS-fatigue, and on the domain health change in the SF-36. The improvement on the 6MWT minute walking test was obvious but not significant. At follow up, there was a slight deterioration in most scores except for health change on the SF-36. However, follow-up scores were still better than before the program. These preliminary positive results regarding the effectiveness of this program lead to improvements of the program. These include more psychological support and more support regarding problems at work. The next step will be setting up a randomized clinical trial and implementation of the program in other settings.