Completed

Support, Health, and Fibromyalgia

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What is being tested

Social support group

+ Social support and education group
Behavioral
Who is being recruted

Fibromyalgia

+ Quality of Life
Over 21 Years
+4 Eligibility Criteria

See all eligibility criteria

How is the trial designed

Other Study

Phase 2
Interventional
Study Start: September 1996

See protocol details

Summary

Principal SponsorSan Diego State University
Last updated: December 4, 2013
Sourced from a government-validated database.Claim as a partner
Study start date: September 1, 1996Actual date on which the first participant was enrolled.

This study tests the effects of social support and education on the health and well-being of people with fibromyalgia (FMS). We recruited 600 adults with a confirmed diagnosis of FMS from a large health maintenance organization. We randomly assigned the study participants to one of three groups. People in the social support group met with others who suffer from FMS for 2 hours every week for 10 weeks, and then monthly for an additional 10 months. The social support and education group also had 10 2-hour weekly meetings followed by 10 monthly meetings with others who suffer from FMS. Members of this group learned about the disease and ways they can manage it themselves. The third group participated only in the five assessment periods. The study lasted 4 years. Next to osteoarthritis, FMS is the most common arthritis-related disease. Symptoms include musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, headaches, irritable bowel syndrome, morning stiffness, and sleep disturbances. Fluctuating severity, pain, and frustration with the difficulty of diagnosis and treatment lead patients to continually seek help from health care professionals. There is no known cause or cure for this disease. This study tests the effects of social support and education on the health and well-being of people with fibromyalgia (FMS). We recruited 600 adults with a confirmed diagnosis of FMS from a large health maintenance organization. To be eligible, people had to meet the American College of Rheumatology guidelines for FMS. After we confirmed the diagnosis, we assigned those who agreed to participate to one of three groups. The first group (social support) met with others who suffer from FMS for 2 hours every week for 10 weeks, and then monthly for an additional 10 months. The second group (social support and education) also had 10 2-hour weekly meetings followed by 10 monthly meetings with others who suffer from FMS, and its members learned about the disease and self-management techniques. The third group (control) participated only in the five assessment periods. We assessed people in all three groups before we assigned them to a group, after the intervention, and at yearly follow-ups. The study duration was 4 years.

Official TitleSocial Support and Health in Fibromyalgia 
Principal SponsorSan Diego State University
Last updated: December 4, 2013
Sourced from a government-validated database.Claim as a partner

Protocol

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.
Design Details
600 patients to be enrolledTotal number of participants that the clinical trial aims to recruit.

How participants are assigned to different groups/arms
In this clinical study, participants are placed into groups randomly, like flipping a coin. This ensures that the study is fair and unbiased, making the results more reliable. By assigning participants by chance, researchers can better compare treatments without external influences.

Other Ways to Assign Participants
Non-randomized allocation: Participants are assigned based on specific factors, such as their medical condition or a doctor's decision.
None (Single-arm trial): If the study has only one group, all participants receive the same treatment, and no allocation is needed.

How treatments are given to participants
Participants receive different combinations of treatments to see how they work together. This approach helps researchers determine whether a combination of treatments is more effective than a single treatment alone.

Other Ways to Assign Treatments
Single-group assignment: Everyone gets the same treatment.
Parallel assignment: Participants are split into separate groups, each receiving a different treatment.
Cross-over assignment: Participants switch between treatments during the study.
Sequential assignment: Participants receive treatments one after another in a specific order, possibly based on individual responses.
Other assignment: Treatment assignment does not follow a standard or predefined design.

How the interventions assigned to participants is kept confidential
Everyone involved in the study knows which treatment is being given. This is typically used when it's not possible or necessary to hide the treatment details from participants or researchers.

Other Ways to Mask Information
Single-blind: Participants do not know which treatment they are receiving, but researchers do.
Double-blind: Neither participants nor researchers know which treatment is given.
Triple-blind: Participants, researchers, and outcome assessors do not know which treatment is given.
Quadruple-blind: Participants, researchers, outcome assessors, and care providers all do not know which treatment is given.

Eligibility

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria: person's general health condition or prior treatments.
Conditions
Criteria
Any sexBiological sex of participants that are eligible to enroll.
Over 21 YearsRange of ages for which participants are eligible to join.
Healthy volunteers not allowedIf individuals who are healthy and do not have the condition being studied can participate.
Conditions
Pathology
Fibromyalgia
Quality of Life
Criteria
2 inclusion criteria required to participate
A diagnosis of fibromyalgia documented in medical records and confirmed using The American College of Rheumatology criteria for classification of FMS: (1) A history of widespread pain (pain on both sides of the body, above and below the waist, and present for at least 3 months). (2) Pain in 11 or more of 18 tender-point sites
Patient willing to attend 10 weekly meetings and 10 monthly meetings
2 exclusion criteria prevent from participating
Patients who do not meet ACR criteria for FMS described above
Patients who cannot attend meetings once a week for 10 weeks and once a month for 10 months were excluded

Study Centers

These are the hospitals, clinics, or research facilities where the trial is being conducted. You can find the location closest to you and its status.
This study has 1 location
Suspended
San Diego State UniversitySan Diego, United StatesSee the location
CompletedOne Study Center