Evaluating occupational performance coaching to support fatigue management for people with multiple sclerosis: A feasibility study.
Sorayya Askari, Dorothy Kessler, Penelope Smyth and 1 others
PMID 35673263WHAT IT FOUND
Adding occupational therapy coaching to a fatigue website helped people with severe multiple sclerosis fatigue set goals and use the site more.
While participants felt more confident and less impacted by fatigue, these improvements were not significant enough to prove the coaching works.
Key findings
01Participants in the coaching group used the website far more frequently and for longer than those with website access alone.
02The coaching group reported greater reductions in fatigue impact and increases in self-efficacy, but the differences between groups were not statistically significant.
03Most participants appreciated the coaching sessions and found the combination of coaching and the website useful for managing fatigue.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study was small (26 participants) and designed primarily for feasibility, so it was not powered to detect significant differences in clinical outcomes. Participants were excluded if they had severe cognitive impairment or depression, limiting generalizability to those with these common comorbidities. The lack of statistical significance in the primary outcomes means we cannot determine if the observed improvements were due to the coaching or chance. There was no long-term follow-up to assess whether the benefits of the coaching were maintained after the intervention ended.
Declared interests
The study was supported by a National Multiple Sclerosis Society Mentor-based Post-doctoral Fellowship Award. The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that occupational performance coaching is proven to reduce fatigue impact or increase self-efficacy in MS. The study was a small feasibility trial, and while the coaching group showed better trends, the differences were not statistically significant.