Tablet-based cognitive behavioral intervention to improve arthritis associated fatigue: A pilot study.

Only 24 older adults were studied, and it was a pilot, so it cannot show that the program works. Fatigue and self-efficacy were self-reported; only daily steps were measured with an accelerometer. The Tab-CBI group received a tablet and the comparison group did not, so the tablet itself could have influenced activity. The sample was mostly White and college prepared or more, and most participants had frequent device experience, so it may not apply to patients less familiar with tablets or videoconferencing. Some participants came from the same senior centers, so intervention and comparison participants may have shared information. Some participants began the study in December, January or February, and winter weather may have limited outdoor walking. The intervention lasted only four weeks, which may be too short to change fatigue or self-efficacy.

The authors disclosed no potential conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise.

Do not read this as proof that the Tab-CBI bundle improves arthritis fatigue. The fatigue difference between groups was not statistically significant (p = 0.09), and because the intervention combined several components and the comparison group did not receive a tablet, the study cannot attribute the step-count difference to any single part.