Perceived Impact of a Self-Management Program for Fatigue in Multiple Sclerosis

Abstract

Background: Fatigue in multiple sclerosis (MS) is reported to be one of its most debilitating symptoms, affecting personal, family, and community participation. Despite a high incidence of MS in New Zealand, there was no cohesive approach to support people with MS to manage their fatigue. This prompted the development of Minimise Fatigue, Maximise Life: Creating Balance with Multiple Sclerosis (MFML), a group-based, 6-week fatigue self-management program. This study explored the perceived impact of MFML for participants who attended the program. Methods: We undertook semistructured individual telephone interviews 1 (n = 23) and 3 (n = 11) months after delivery of the program. Data were analyzed for themes. Results: Two themes emerged from the data: achieving behavior change to manage fatigue and whole of life effects. These themes represent participants' perceived benefits of the program. Conclusions: This study provides evidence that the MFML fatigue self-management program positively affected the lives of participants. The findings suggest that participants had begun to successfully develop and integrate self-management skills into their everyday lives. This affected the individual personally and also their participation in family and community life. This study adds to the current knowledge and understanding of the positive effect that delivery of a fatigue self-management intervention can have for people with MS.