Fatigue in psoriatic arthritis

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Patients' understanding and experience of fatigue in psoriatic arthritis:a qualitative study.

• IRAS ID

  200638

• Contact name

  Leigh Taylor

• Contact email

  leigh.taylor@uwe.ac.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  University of the West of England, Bristol

• Duration of Study in the UK

  1 years, 0 months, 1 days

• Research summary

  Recent research suggests that fatigue can be an overwhelming and distressing symptom for people with Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA). However, very little is known about patients’ experiences of living with fatigue. Greater understanding could help both patients and healthcare professionals to acknowledge and address the problem.

  In addition to understanding how patients experience fatigue, there is a need to measure the symptom so that we can test interventions/treatments to manage it. Measurement should be based on aspects of fatigue that are meaningful and important to patients.

  Therefore this qualitative study has two aims:
  I. The first is to explore patients' constructions and understandings of fatigue and aim to generate a clearer picture of the role of fatigue in patients’ everyday lives.
  II. The second is to discuss the Bristol Rheumatoid Arthritis Multi-Dimensional Questionnaire (BRAF-MDQ) with participants, as a candidate measure of fatigue in PsA. The BRAF-MDQ is a Patient Reported Outcome Measure (PROM) that was designed with patients. It has been successfully utilised to measure fatigue in patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis. This study will explore patients’ views on whether the BRAF-MDQ could also be used to measure fatigue in PsA, for example whether the questions are relevant.

  The research will be conducted in Academic Rheumatology at the Bristol Royal Infirmary (BRI). Patients with a diagnosis of PsA, who are over 18 years old will be eligible to take part in the study. Eligible patients will be invited to participate in a one-to-one, semi-structured interview with a researcher. The interview will follow a flexible schedule looking at personal experiences of fatigue and its impact, followed by a discussion of the potential usefulness of the BRAF-MDQ as a way of measuring their fatigue. The study will be conducted over 12 months.

• REC name

  South Central - Berkshire B Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  16/SC/0373

• Date of REC Opinion

  5 Jul 2016

• REC opinion

  Favourable Opinion