Managing Cancer-Related Fatigue Using Energy Conservation Strategies: An Occupational Therapy Perspective

Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is defined as distressing tiredness highly prevalent among people with cancer and can persist for years after successful treatment has been terminated (National Comprehensive Cancer Network, 2015).... [ view full abstract ]

Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is defined as distressing tiredness highly prevalent among people with cancer and can persist for years after successful treatment has been terminated (National Comprehensive Cancer Network, 2015). The aim of this study was to investigate whether an energy conservation (EC) intervention provided in a one-hour session was effective at improving occupational performance for people with CRF post cancer treatment. The intervention session and functional outcome measure used focused on occupations identified as priorities by individual participants. A pre-test post-test design with no control group was used. Outcomes measured were fatigue and occupational performance measured in terms of self-perceived performance and satisfaction with performance. Pre-test assessments were administered face-to-face prior to the intervention session with participants (N = 7) and post-test assessments were administered three weeks later over the phone to allow participants time to implement EC strategies. A statistically significant improvement in fatigue (p = 0.034) and satisfaction with occupational performance (p = 0.018) was identified. This supports the use of this intervention for people with cancer related fatigue. However further research is required to determine whether these results are replicable with a larger sample and to determine if the gains identified are maintained in the longer term.