Dolphin
Senior Member (Voting Rights)
Id 130: Practice and lifeworld researchers - Different views on chronic fatigue to develop a user-friendly app with increased relevance to reality (Torge-Christian Wittke, Nadja Wegner, Imke Schwalm, Alexandra Dopfer-Jablonka, Christine Happle, Frank Müller, Tim Riester, Eva Maria Noack, Andrea Stoelting, Tim Schmachtenberg)
Introduction
Chronic fatigue syndrome affects approximately 45% of individuals with long COVID and significantly impairs Quality of Life1. A digitized occupational therapy app to support social inclu-sion and Quality of Life is being codeveloped by long COVID patients with fatigue and/or concentration disorders who act as lifeworld researchers. The app also includes exercise elements suitable for any fitness level. The participatory2 approach will be presented here.
Methods
During a participatory process, seven lifeworld researchers, together with two practical researchers (occupational therapists) and four academic researchers, are developing a new, low-threshold therapy form for people suffering from fatigue and/or concentration disorders. Helpful rated intervention excerpts from the previous intervention ErgoLoCo3 will be integrated into the eHealth platform CIAS4,5, further developed cooperatively through several adaptation loops, and repeatedly tested. Afterwards, app content will be tested with patients who were not involved in the development process and who suffer from fatigue due to an underlying rheumatic disease. The therapeutic application, integrated into the CIAS-web-app, is designed so that it can be used both by those affected on their own and in collaboration with occupational therapists. The modular structure of the application creates a high degree of flexibility, allowing for targeted and individualized treatment of problems in the everyday lives of those affected.
Results
The researcher group developed a first app version, based on the following intervention time table: 1 st test/adaption loop (February & March) Content: Three research workshops for all members of the research group. Aim: Presentation and feedback of interventions for the app, collection of suggestions for improvement andrevision of app content. 2 nd test/adaption loop (April & May)
Content:
Testing of the app therapy units in individual sessions by practical and lifeworld researchers and independent testing of app therapy units by lifeworld researchers.
Aim:
Random assignment of training units for lifeworld researchers, direct feedback of practical and lifeworld researchers and implementation of improvements for the app. 3 rd test/adaption loop (June)
Content:
Feedback and adjustment of app content.
Aim:
Final research workshop with all members of the research group to present the adapted interventions. Based on feedback from the lifeworld researchers, the original ten units on different occupa-tional therapy topics were expanded to a total of 13 units including two introductory units. These introductory units also include descriptions of the disease for those affected and those not affected by long COVID to provide information, so that this illness is going to be demarginalized to their social environment. Due to the lack of concentration of those affected by long COVID, one unit was divided into two parts. Eleven occupational therapy units and a separate unit for physical activity can be used to organize and reorganize daily activities.
Conclusion / Discussion
The commitment of lifeworld researchers gives them the feeling, that they are making a significant difference. Through their feedback, academic and practical researchers gain new, important perspectives on previously unknown gaps in disease care. Academic researchers are becoming more aware step by step and app content is directly addressed to users.
Referenzen
[1] Salari N, Khodayari Y, Hosseinian-Far A, Zarei H, Rasoulpoor S, Akbari H et al. Global prevalence of chronic fatigue syndrome among long COVID-19 patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis. BioPsychoSocial Medicine. 2022. 21: 16(1). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13030-022-00250-5
[2] Partizipative Forschung: Ein Forschungsansatz für Gesundheit und seine Methoden. (Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden, Wiesbaden, 2020). DOI: 10.1007/978-3-658-30361-7
[3] Müllenmeister C, Stoelting A, Schröder D, Schmachtenberg T, Ritter S, El-Sayed I et al. Evaluating the Feasibility, Acceptance, and Beneficial Effects of Online Occupational Therapy for Post-COVID-19 Condition: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial for Post-COVID-19 Condition: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial View publication stats (ErgoLoCo Study). JMIR Res Protoc. 2024. 13:e50230. DOI: 10.2196/50230[4] Digital Health Interventions | Computerized Intervention Authoring System. Cias https://www.cias.app/[5] Digital Health Interventions | Computerized Intervention Authoring System. Cias http://cias-app.eu/
(Deutsche Version) Herr Torge-Christian Wittke Klinik für Immunologie und Rheumatologie, Medizinische Hochschule Hannover (MHH), Hannover Regionales Kooperatives Rheumazentrum Niedersachsen e.V., Hannover