What is the feasibility and acceptability of conducting a randomised controlled trial evaluating a healthcare professional-supported, self-management intervention for people suffering from fatigue after critical illness?
Fatigue after critical illness
Half of the participants will be randomly assigned to the intervention group where they will receive access to the fatigue self-management intervention alongside receiving the usual care offered to patients recovering from critical illness. The other half will be randomly assigned to the usual care group. These people will only receive the usual care offered to patients recovering from critical illness. The supported fatigue self-management intervention consists of web-based psychoeducational resources that participants may work through at their own pace, supplemented by a supportive phone call from an HCP who will assist with goal setting and action planning. The web-based resources include four core self-management modules available in a variety of formats. These stand-alone ‘bite-sized’ modules may be accessed in any order. 1. About fatigue: Includes psychoeducational information, case studies and opportunities for self-monitoring. 2. Managing energy with the 5 P’s: Outlines several strategies to manage energy levels and includes opportunities for self-monitoring and reflection. 3. Strategies for everyday life: Provides a variety of strategies relating to physical activity, home life, leisure, relationships, work, study and finances, thoughts, and feelings, eating, nutrition, and sleep. This section also includes resources about supporting a person affected by fatigue to share with family, friends, carers, children, and employers. 4. Goal setting and making plans: Includes psychoeducational materials, case studies, examples and opportunities for self-monitoring and reflection. HCPs will attend an online training event and follow a defined protocol to facilitate goal-setting and personal action-planning. The supportive phone call from an HCP from the critical care follow-up clinic will occur prior to the patient’s follow-up clinic appointment, at around 3 months after their hospital discharge. The purpose of the phone call will be to assist with fatigue-relat
Patient Participant Inclusion Criteria: 1. Adults >=18 years 2. Have been an inpatient in the ICU for a minimum of 72 hours 3. Have required Level 3 care (Failure of two or more organs and/ or requiring advanced respiratory care) (Intensive Care Society, 2021) during their ICU stay 4. Self-reporting symptoms of fatigue at point of discharge (+/- 7 days) from hospital (< 34/ 52 on FACIT-F additional concerns subscale) 5. Ready for discharge (+/- 7 days) from hospital HCP Participant Eligibility Criteria: 1. Healthcare professional registered with a professional body (Nursing and Midwifery Council, General Medical Council, Health, and Care Professionals Council) 2. Directly involved with the intervention delivery for this study
Patient Participant Exclusion Criteria: 1. Expected to survive for < 30 days according to their clinical team 2. A neurological diagnosis occurring as a cause or result of the patient ICU admission (e.g., stroke, traumatic brain injury) or any neurodegenerative condition (E.g. multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) as these specialist groups have different clinical and biological characteristics