Women with chronic disabling conditions such as fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) must manage a wide variety of disease-related, intrapersonal, and environmental demands to maintain their health and quality of life. Engaging in health-promoting behaviors is one strategy recommended to manage disease symptoms and enhance quality of life (USDHHS, 2000). The purpose of this four-year study is to test a theoretically and empirically based intervention to promote the health and well being of women with the chronic disabling condition of fibromyalgia. This wellness intervention, originally developed and tested in a randomized clinical trial of women with MS (N=113), resulted in significant improvements in self-efficacy, health behaviors and improvements in pain, and mental health.
The specific aims of this study are to examine the effects of the adapted wellness intervention on self-efficacy, resources, barriers, health behaviors and health outcomes for women with fibromyalgia. A sample of 160 women with FMS will be recruited to participate in a randomized clinical study to determine the effects of this wellness intervention that includes an eight-week health promotion/behavior change component and 3 months of follow-up phone support. Women will be randomly assigned to either the intervention or the attention control group. Women in the intervention group will receive content regarding stress management, lifestyle adjustment, physical activity, nutrition and women's health issues with an emphasis on the unique adaptations and associated skills required to empower women with the tools for exercising personal control over their health behaviors. The effects of the intervention on outcome variables will be assessed over an 8-month period with measurements at baseline, 2 months (immediately after the educational/skill-building component), 5 months (after 3 months of phone support) and at 8 months. Hierarchical linear modeling techniques will be used to determine the significance of group by time interactions across the four measurement periods.
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