? Administrative Core Fatigue and sleep disturbance are common persistent and disabling chronic symptoms that often occur together. Of individuals with cancer, stroke, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, congestive heart failure, post-polio syndrome, obstructive sleep apnea and fibromyalgia, 14-96% experience fatigue or impaired sleep. Together these two symptoms can become a self-reinforcing cycle that exacts a physiological and psychological burden on individuals and families and has a profound affect on quality of life. About half of all adults, or 117 million, have one or more chronic health conditions and experience one or both of these symptoms. Individuals with multiple chronic conditions account for 86% of all health care spending and use more health care services, including hospital days, office visits, home health care and prescription drugs. The cost of fatigue due to decreased productivity in the workplace is estimated to be $136 billion annually. The development of new sensors and wireless technologies combined with powerful computer analysis providing information directly to individuals using smart phones, watches, and tablet based computers is a significant advancement in technology that can return control to individuals to continuously self-monitor symptoms and receive immediate feedback on-demand to more effectively manage these symptoms. The University of Massachusetts Amherst has the capacity to develop, test, and refine these new innovative technologies for use by individuals with chronic health problems to significantly improve symptom self-management. The overall goal of the UManage Center is to develop and refine interventions that can assist individuals with chronic conditions to effectively manage fatigue and sleep disturbance by developing and improving new sensor technologies combined with the power of real time computer based analysis and human factors engineering.
The specific aims of the Administrative Core are to: 1) Establish, build, and maintain the UManage Center infrastructure to secure long- term continuation of Center activities directed at fostering subsequent grant funding, creating partnerships with industry stakeholders, engaging community dwelling individuals, and building capacity of multidisciplinary teams; 2) Direct and coordinate the oversight of the administrative functions of the UManage Center to provide oversight of grant funds used by the Cores and Pilot Project Teams, to communicate with Core Directors and mentor Pilot Project Teams; 3) Expand the research capacity of nurse scientists to design, develop, and implement new technologies with teams at the leading edge of scientific discovery to advance symptom self- management for individuals and families; 4) Optimize and leverage access and utilization of resources across the UMass Amherst campus and the Center for Clinical Translational Science/CTSA at UMass Medical School; 5) Evaluate UManage Center activities including successful completion of pilot projects, dissemination of findings at national and international scientific meetings, publication of results, conduct of workshops directed at building capacity across the UMass System (Boston, Dartmouth, Lowell, and UMass Medical School).
