Improving the Assessment of Fatigue in Axial Spondyloarthropathy

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    Improving the Assessment of Fatigue in Axial Spondyloarthropathy

  • IRAS ID

    194467

  • Contact name

    Kirstie Haywood

  • Contact email

    k.l.haywood@warwick.ac.uk

  • Sponsor organisation

    University of Warwick

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    2 years, 6 months, 1 days

  • Research summary

    Understanding the impact of fatigue on the lives of people with Axial Spondyloarthropathies (AxSpa), including Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS), is important for healthcare and research. Unfortunately, little is known about AxSpa/AS-fatigue and what really matters to patients in terms of ‘good outcomes’ from healthcare. Moreover, how clinicians measure the impact of fatigue fails to capture ‘what’s important’ to patients, or detect changes in fatigue that matter to patients. Previous work by this team has shown that existing measures underestimate the impact of fatigue in people with AxSpa/AS.
    This research will improve our understanding of AxSpa/AS-fatigue and the health outcomes that matter to patients, resulting in a patient-driven and patient-centred assessment. We will talk to patients about their experiences of fatigue and the subsequent impact on their daily life and healthcare needs. We will ask patients, health professionals and researchers for their views on current approaches to assessing fatigue and their relevance to AxSpa/AS. This will allow us to determine whether a new, specific AxSpa/AS-fatigue questionnaire is required, or whether modification of an existing questionnaire would be appropriate; subsequently informing the next stage of research necessary to fully address this issue.

  • REC name

    West Midlands - Black Country Research Ethics Committee

  • REC reference

    16/WM/0147

  • Date of REC Opinion

    21 Apr 2016

  • REC opinion

    Further Information Favourable Opinion