A web‐based therapeutic patient education intervention for pain and sleep for women with fibromyalgia: A sequential exploratory mixed‐methods research protocol

Abstract

Aims:To evaluate cognitive and behavioural factors related to pain and poor sleep quality in women diagnosed with fibromyalgia and to develop and test the effects of a web-based therapeutic education intervention on pain intensity, pain catastrophizing, chronic pain self-efficacy, sleep quality, dysfunctional beliefs and attitudes about sleep and quality of life and health status related to fibromyalgia. Design:The project will employ a sequential exploratory mixed methods research design.Methods: For the qualitative phase, a theoretical sample living in the community will be recruited to participate in personal, semi-structured interviews. For the quantitative phase, a sample of adult women with fibromyalgia will be recruited from secondary care centres and randomly allocated an intervention or a control group. The study protocol was approved in 2019. Discussion: Fibromyalgia is the most common central sensitivity syndrome and one of the principal worldwide causes of chronic widespread pain among the adult population. Poor sleep quality is a highly prevalent and troublesome symptom for people with fibromyalgia. Psychosocial and behavioural factors have been shown to relate intimately with the symptom experiences of people with fibromyalgia; pain catastrophizing and dysfunctional beliefs and attitudes about sleep can perpetuate those and other fibromyalgia symptoms. Conclusion: It is imperative to reflect people's actual symptom experiences to develop effective symptom management strategies. In the Internet era, this project's proposed web-based therapeutic education intervention could offer women with fibromyalgia a new avenue for treatment as part of standard fibromyalgia management programs in primary and secondary healthcare services.Impact: Pain and poor sleep quality are highly prevalent and troublesome symptoms for people with fibromyalgia. The web-based therapeutic education intervention

Differences between Portuguese and Brazilian Patients with Fibromyalgia Syndrome: Exploring the Associations across Age, Time of Diagnosis, and Fatigue-Related Symptoms

“…Higher scores indicated greater fatigue severity. Previous studies support the validity and reliability of this questionnaire [7].…”

“…The main symptoms reported by patients include musculoskeletal pain without external stimuli, specific places of musculoskeletal sensitivity (also called tender points), decreased muscle strength, chronic fatigue syndrome, and psychological adversities such as sleep disorders, anxiety, and depression [5,6]. FM is considered a multifactorial health condition, that is, its symptoms worsen or are maintained based on the interaction of several biological, psychological, and social factors [7].…”

Nursing educational intervention in hysterectomized women: a mixed method study protocol

“…To develop this study, we considered a mixed methods approach, considering that this is the type of approach recommended for health investigations, using information technologies such as tele-health and those reported in a study that, using an exploratory, sequential design, showed the importance of generating technology focused on the needs and requirements of users, in order to give support to people in the process of self-care and generate a positive impact on their health conditions (29) .…”

Sleeping is a nightmare: A qualitative study on the experience and management of poor sleep quality in women with fibromyalgia

“…However, carrying out education interventions in medical consultation is, in most cases, nonviable, given the evident time restraints that accompany health care practice (Baird et al, 2016; Irving et al, 2017). Web‐based education interventions could be useful tools for educating patients without consuming time during consultations (Climent‐Sanz, Gea‐Sánchez, et al, 2020).…”