Managing Fatigue:The Individual Program for Parkinson's Disease (MFIP Trial)

This pilot study aims to evaluate the feasibility of Managing Fatigue: The Individual Program (MFIP) in people living with Parkinson's disease. The Managing Fatigue Program, a six-week, self-management energy conservation course, focuses on strategies that help people with fatigue to make changes to save and use their energy to accomplish their daily activities. Several studies have adapted and evaluated different delivery formats of the program in conditions similar to Parkinson's disease, demonstrating that the Managing Fatigue Program is effective in reducing fatigue impact, depression, sleep problems, and improving quality of life, participation and self-efficacy. While this program has been tested in people living with many chronic conditions there has been only limited inclusion of people living with PD. This feasibility study, using a mixed-methods approach, nested in a pilot randomized control design, will evaluate the feasibility of the Individual Managing Fatigue Program from the perspectives of people with Parkinson's disease, and prepare for a full-scale randomized controlled trial (RCT). In this study, Managing Fatigue: The Individual Program (MFIP) will be delivered using videoconferencing. This feasibility study will use a mixed-methods approach, nested in a pilot two-armed randomized controlled design. Using a concurrent mixed-method design, we will collect two types of data (qualitative and quantitative) simultaneously, expanding our understanding of the feasibility of the program. Data will be collected using feasibility questionnaires developed by the research team, standard outcome measures, and group discussions. Multiple recruitment strategies will be used to recruit a convenience sample of 50 participants (25 in each group) from across the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. Eligible participants will be randomly assigned to either the control or experimental group using sealed envelopes. The study outcome measures will be administered three times during the study; pre-test, post-test after 6 weeks, and at three-month follow-up. The results of this study will determine whether it is feasible to do a full-scale RCT in the future. If the known beneficial effects of the Managing Fatigue program extend to the PD population, this research will be the evidence needed to support the integration of this novel solution into the care of people with PD.