Purcell, A., Fleming, J., Burmeister, B., Bennett, S., & Haines, T. (2011). Is education an effective management strategy for reducing cancer-related fatigue? Supportive Care in Cancer, 19, 1429–1439.
To examine whether providing pre-, post-, or pre-/post-radiotherapy fatigue education and support (RFES) reduced the severity of fatigue at the end of six weeks post radiotherapy.
A 60-minute session was held using a PowerPoint presentation, participant handbook, goal setting sheet, and progress diary. Follow-up telephone calls were made to patients two and four weeks after the session to reinforce the information. Content included radiotherapy processes, side effects, and behaviors to reduce fatigue, such as activity modification, sleep hygiene, and relaxation.
Patients were undergoing the active treatment phase of care.
The study used a three-group, quasiexperimental, pre/post design.
Pre-RFES showed no improvement in fatigue compared to no pre-RFES. Post-RFES showed no improvement in fatigue compared to no post-RFES.
Patient-reported fatigue was unaffected by the intervention for any of the time points it was delivered.
Additional interventions should be considered when attempting to alleviate fatigue in patients receiving radiotherapy.