Files
Abstract
Background: Fatigue is the most commonly reported symptom for people with multiple sclerosis (MS), and is highly debilitating. While research has focused on fatigue, not much is known about other factors that impact the fatigue experience. Purpose: The purpose of these studies is to illuminate aspects of the fatigue experience using quantitative and qualitative methodologies, focusing on interoceptive awareness and emotional susceptibility. Methods: A mixed methods approach was adopted because of the complex nature of fatigue. Quantitative data was collected via a survey battery. Qualitative data was collected via interviews. Results: People with MS (n=55) participated in the survey collection and 35 participated in the qualitative interview. Quantitative data indicated that despite high fatigue levels, there was no statistically significant relationship between fatigue and interoceptive awareness, or between fatigue and emotional susceptibility in this sample. Qualitatively, participants described the fatigue experience as being marked with physical sensations and emotional responses. Further investigation of qualitative data pointed to the presence of worry as it relates to physical activity fatigue in people with MS. When investigated quantitatively, lower levels of worry- not higher levels of worry- were shown to be related to lower levels of physical activity. Conclusions: Results indicated a disagreement between quantitative and qualitative assessment of aspects of the fatigue experience. This disagreement could have occurred for measurement-related reasons, but does indicate that more specialized attention is needed to aspects of the fatigue experience in this population. Qualitative assessments pointed out the importance of worry in decision making in related to physical activity.