Can models of fibromyalgia care be shared across organisations?
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Can models of fibromyalgia care be shared across organisations to improve patient self-management, pain medication usage, work retention and physical performance? A multi-centre observational study
IRAS ID
275471
Contact name
Karen Walker-Bone
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Solent NHS Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Fibromyalgia (FM) is common, affecting 5.4% of the population. These patients have high levels of chronic pain which negatively impact daily activities, relationships, mood, sleep and overall health. The healthcare costs of chronic pain are high, but there are also indirect costs involving loss of productivity, sickness absence and disability benefits. Among patients attending pain clinics in the UK, the National Pain Audit found that 40% were prevented from working (paid or voluntary) by their pain.
Colleagues in Bath have already designed, evaluated and implemented a therapist-led Fibromyalgia Self-Management programme (FSMP). The FSMP is a non-pharmacological, multidisciplinary exercise and education group intervention, which is delivered as part of usual care for patients with FM. It educates and teaches core skills, to enable those affected to self-manage.
We are now starting a new FM service in Southampton and plan to use the FSMP and wish to check that the programme translates well to a new location, with the same levels of effectiveness as those seen in Bath. It is likely that this alone would probably fall under "service evaluation".However, we are seeking ethical approval for two reasons: Firstly, we have added a new element: a work ability booklet, which evolved out of work with chronic pain patients in another research project funded by NIHR HTA. This booklet helped almost half of participants unemployed with chronic pain to make steps towards starting work. We wish to evaluate its success among FM patients. Secondly, we also wish to undertake some primary research to evaluate physical performance measures in a sub-set of 100 participants at baseline and at follow-ups after 3 months and 12 months to test the hypothesis that FM is associated with frailty and impaired functional capacity and that this function could be improved by the FSMP.
REC name
East of England - Essex Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/EE/0077
Date of REC Opinion
11 Mar 2021
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion