Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2010 Apr;24(4):305-18.
doi: 10.1177/0269215509343247.

A randomized controlled trial of a wellness intervention for women with fibromyalgia syndrome

Alexa K Stuifbergen  1 , Shelley A Blozis, Heather Becker, Lorraine Phillips, Gayle Timmerman, Vicki Kullberg, Carole Taxis, Janet Morrison
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

A randomized controlled trial of a wellness intervention for women with fibromyalgia syndrome

Alexa K Stuifbergen et al. Clin Rehabil. 2010 Apr.

Abstract

Objective: To examine the effects of a wellness intervention, Lifestyle Counts, for women with fibromyalgia syndrome on the level of self-efficacy for health-promoting behaviours, health-promoting activity and perceived quality of life.

Design: A randomized controlled single-blinded trial with treatment and attention-control groups.

Setting: Community in the southwestern United States.

Subjects: Convenience sample of 187 women (98 treatment, 89 attention control) with fibromyalgia syndrome (mean age = 53.08 years, SD 9.86).

Intervention: The two-phase Lifestyle Counts intervention programme included lifestyle change classes for eight weeks, with goal-setting and telephone follow-up for three months. Participants in the attention-control group were offered an equivalent amount of contact in classes on general disease-related information and health education topics and unstructured follow-up phone calls. Participants were followed for a total of eight months after baseline.

Outcome measures: Self-report instruments measuring self-efficacy for health behaviours, health-promotion behaviours and health-related quality of life (SF-36 and the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire) were completed at baseline, two months (after the classes), five months (after telephone follow-up) and at eight months.

Results: Both groups improved significantly (P<0.05) over time on the measures of self-efficacy, health behaviours, fibromyalgia impact and quality of life. There were significant group x time interactions for scores on the Health Promoting Lifestyle II subscales of physical activity and stress management.

Conclusions: The Lifestyle Counts wellness intervention holds promise for improving health-promoting behaviours and quality of life of women with fibromyalgia syndrome.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Model guiding the intervention study. Adapted from Stuifbergen, et al (2003). A randomized clinical trial of a wellness intervention for women with multiple sclerosis. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 84, 467-76.
Figure 2 –
Figure 2 –
Flow Chart of Intervention
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Branco JC, Bannwarth B, Failde I, Abello Carbonell J, Blotman F, Spaeth M, et al. Prevalence of fibromyalgia: a survey in five European countries. Semin Arthritis Rheum. 2009. February 26 [E-pub ahead of print]. - PubMed
    1. Lawrence RC, Felson DT, Helmick CG, Arnold LM, Choi H, Deyo RA, et al.; National Arthritis Data Workgroup. Estimates of the prevalence of arthritis and other rheumatic conditions in the United States. Arthritis Rheum. 2008;58:26–35. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Weir PT, Harlan GA, Nkoy FL, Jones SS, Hegmann KT, Gren LH, et al. The incidence of fibromyalgia and its associated comorbidities: a population-based retrospective cohort study based on international classification of diseases, 9th revision codes. J Clin Rheumatol. 2006;12:124–8. - PubMed
    1. Wolfe F, Ross K, Anderson J, Russell IJ, Herbert L. The prevalence and the characteristics of fibromyalgia in the general population. Arthritis Rheum. 1995;38:19–28. - PubMed
    1. Soderberg S, Lundman B, Norberg A. Struggling for dignity: the meaning of women’s experiences of living with fibromyalgia. Qual Health Res. 1999;9:575–87. - PubMed

Publication types