Exploring the perceptions of patients after attending the occupational therapy-led cancer-related fatigue management program

Abstract

Background: Exercise is currently recommended as the first-line intervention for improving physical endurance to combat cancer-related fatigue. An emerging intervention is psychoeducation, which promotes self-management. Though its efficacy has yet to be determined, empirical research has utilized fatigue intensity and quality of life outcomes to determine whether psychoeducation has been successful. However, these outcome measures disregard whether patients have made functional gains in their everyday lives, and the current literature has overlooked participation outcomes in cancer-related fatigue. Aim: This study aimed to fill a gap in the literature regarding whether a group-based psychoeducation intervention run by occupational therapists for cancer-related fatigue had an impact on occupational participation. Additionally, the purpose of this research was to understand the perceptions of participants who attended for future program development. Methods: This study adopted a phenomenological qualitative research design to capture the lived experiences of participants through a semi-structured interview guided by the Canadian Model of Occupational Performance and Engagement (CMOP-E). To ensure rich, detailed data, the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy – Fatigue (FACIT-F) was utilized as a pre-interview reflective exercise. Through purposive sampling, six participants who attended the cancer-related fatigue management program run by the occupational therapists at Sir Anthony Mamo Oncology Centre (SAMOC) agreed to participate in this study. Findings: The perceptions and impact on participation following attendance in psychoeducation sessions comprised of five overarching themes: occupational deprivation, perceived occupational impact, perceptions of the occupational therapy program, program limitations, and group effect. The findings suggest that the participants generally held positive perceptions of the program, which meaningfully contributed to their participation in their daily routines. Concerns have been raised regarding the timeliness of this intervention and systematic barriers limiting referrals to occupational therapy. Discussion: A recognized gap in the literature was addressed, and the findings indicate that psychoeducational interventions, run by occupational therapists who utilized occupation-based interventions, positively impacted patients’ occupational participation. Furthermore, it reinforces the position of occupational therapy as a supportive oncology service in the context of cancer-related fatigue. However, the occupational therapy profession needs to address the lack of participation outcomes in research related to cancer-related fatigue.