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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Med.
Sec. Family Medicine and Primary Care
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2024.1429275
This article is part of the Research Topic Shedding Light on Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) View all articles

Defining Fatigue from the Experiences of Patients Living with Chronic Fatigue

Provisionally accepted
Carielle Joy Rio Carielle Joy Rio 1Gina M. Gehling Gina M. Gehling 2Catherine Blumhorst Catherine Blumhorst 1Alexander Ross Alexander Ross 1Leorey Saligan Leorey Saligan 1*
  • 1 National Institute of Nursing Research (NIH), Bethesda, Maryland, United States
  • 2 University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Introduction: Fatigue is a multidimensional, highly individualized symptom experience perceived by people, regardless of health status. It is the most common complaint among those seeking primary care, yet, despite being a frequently reported symptom, it remains poorly understood.Methods: This is an exploratory study utilizing a descriptive qualitative approach that aimed to explore the description of fatigue from the personal experiences of 16 participants living with chronic fatigue. Themes were generated from transcripts of in-depth interviews that focused on a central question: "how would you describe your fatigue from your own experience?" Results: Analysis of the participants' interview transcripts revealed 3 main themes. The first theme focused on fatigue as a unique personal experience, which included experiential descriptions or measures of fatigue that the participants used to describe their symptoms. The second theme focused on fatigue as an experience beyond self, which highlighted the consequences of fatigue on interpersonal interactions and performance of social roles, as well as the potential of utilizing social support to cope with the limitations caused by this condition.The last theme was on living with fatigue, which focused on ways participants attempted to discern their condition and manage the consequences of fatigue.Discussion: Experiences of chronic fatigue have patterns and personal meanings that vary between individuals. Caring for persons experiencing chronic fatigue requires acknowledgement of unique personal experiences and coping strategies. Due to the nature of the method, the results of this study are not generalizable and only reflect the experiences of the participants.

    Keywords: chronic fatigue, symptom experience, defining fatigue, Chronic symptoms, patientreported symptoms

    Received: 09 May 2024; Accepted: 25 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Rio, Gehling, Blumhorst, Ross and Saligan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Leorey Saligan, National Institute of Nursing Research (NIH), Bethesda, 20892-2178, Maryland, United States

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.