The feasibility and acceptability of conducting a randomised controlled trial evaluating a healthcare professional-supported, self-management intervention for people suffering from fatigue after critical illness

Yijun Yu; Sophie Eleanor Brown; Akshay Shah; Wladyslawa Czuber-Dochan; Suzanne Bench; Clare Martin; Georgia Cook; David McWilliams; Emma Hedley; Najib Rahman; Rebecca Langley; Louise Stayt

doi:10.1186/s40814-026-01798-7

The feasibility and acceptability of conducting a randomised controlled trial evaluating a healthcare professional-supported, self-management intervention for people suffering from fatigue after critical illness

Yijun Yu
, Sophie Eleanor Brown
, Akshay Shah
, Wladyslawa Czuber-Dochan
, Suzanne Bench
, Clare Martin
, Georgia Cook
, David McWilliams
, Emma Hedley
, Najib Rahman
, Rebecca Langley
, Louise Stayt

Oxford Brookes University
University of Oxford
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust
King's College London
London South Bank University
Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust
University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Fatigue is a common problem that significantly affects intensive care unit (ICU) survivors' physical, psychological, and social functioning. ICU survivors often experience a loss of self-worth and identity, struggle to return to their normal roles, and face ongoing challenges with cognitive and emotional recovery. Despite its profound impact, there are limited rehabilitation interventions targeting this population. This research aims to evaluate the acceptability of implementing the Fatigue After CriTical illness (FACT) self-management intervention into usual care for patients experiencing fatigue after critical illness and the feasibility of the intervention for a future clinical trial.

METHODS: This is a multicentre, open-label, feasibility randomised controlled trial (RCT) with an embedded qualitative evaluation, conducted across. Seventy participants recruited from three United Kingdom (UK) National Health Service (NHS) Trusts will be randomised either to the FACT self-management intervention following hospital discharge, which focuses on fatigue management, goal setting, and personal action planning, in addition to usual care, or to a control group receiving usual care alone. The intervention will be accessible for six months and will include a 30-min phone or video call with an ICU follow-up healthcare professional (HCP) in the third month. HCPs will attend an online training session and follow a protocol to guide patients in goal setting. Outcome assessments will occur at baseline, three months, and six months post-randomisation to evaluate feasibility and acceptability. Semi-structured interviews with patients and HCPs will explore their experiences and acceptability outcomes at 6 months.

DISCUSSION: This study aims to provide insights into the feasibility and acceptability of the FACT intervention, with the goal of improving fatigue management among survivors of critical illness. Preliminary findings will inform the design of a larger-scale RCT to evaluate its effectiveness in enhancing recovery from critical illness in patients who are experiencing fatigue.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: Study ID: ISRCTN1381359. Date registered: 01/04/2025.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	(In-Press)
Number of pages	23
Journal	Pilot and Feasibility Studies
Volume	(In-Press)
Early online date	14 Mar 2026
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1186/s40814-026-01798-7
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 14 Mar 2026

Bibliographical note

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory
regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder.

Keywords

Critical illness
Fatigue
Feasibility
Intensive care unit
Self-management

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Yu, Y., Brown, S. E., Shah, A., Czuber-Dochan, W., Bench, S., Martin, C., Cook, G., McWilliams, D., Hedley, E., Rahman, N., Langley, R., & Stayt, L. (2026). The feasibility and acceptability of conducting a randomised controlled trial evaluating a healthcare professional-supported, self-management intervention for people suffering from fatigue after critical illness. Pilot and Feasibility Studies, (In-Press), (In-Press). Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40814-026-01798-7

The feasibility and acceptability of conducting a randomised controlled trial evaluating a healthcare professional-supported, self-management intervention for people suffering from fatigue after critical illness. / Yu, Yijun; Brown, Sophie Eleanor; Shah, Akshay et al.
In: Pilot and Feasibility Studies, Vol. (In-Press), 14.03.2026, p. (In-Press).

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Yu, Y, Brown, SE, Shah, A, Czuber-Dochan, W, Bench, S, Martin, C, Cook, G, McWilliams, D, Hedley, E, Rahman, N, Langley, R & Stayt, L 2026, 'The feasibility and acceptability of conducting a randomised controlled trial evaluating a healthcare professional-supported, self-management intervention for people suffering from fatigue after critical illness', Pilot and Feasibility Studies, vol. (In-Press), pp. (In-Press). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40814-026-01798-7

Yu Y, Brown SE, Shah A, Czuber-Dochan W, Bench S, Martin C et al. The feasibility and acceptability of conducting a randomised controlled trial evaluating a healthcare professional-supported, self-management intervention for people suffering from fatigue after critical illness. Pilot and Feasibility Studies. 2026 Mar 14;(In-Press):(In-Press). Epub 2026 Mar 14. doi: 10.1186/s40814-026-01798-7

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N2 - BACKGROUND: Fatigue is a common problem that significantly affects intensive care unit (ICU) survivors' physical, psychological, and social functioning. ICU survivors often experience a loss of self-worth and identity, struggle to return to their normal roles, and face ongoing challenges with cognitive and emotional recovery. Despite its profound impact, there are limited rehabilitation interventions targeting this population. This research aims to evaluate the acceptability of implementing the Fatigue After CriTical illness (FACT) self-management intervention into usual care for patients experiencing fatigue after critical illness and the feasibility of the intervention for a future clinical trial.METHODS: This is a multicentre, open-label, feasibility randomised controlled trial (RCT) with an embedded qualitative evaluation, conducted across. Seventy participants recruited from three United Kingdom (UK) National Health Service (NHS) Trusts will be randomised either to the FACT self-management intervention following hospital discharge, which focuses on fatigue management, goal setting, and personal action planning, in addition to usual care, or to a control group receiving usual care alone. The intervention will be accessible for six months and will include a 30-min phone or video call with an ICU follow-up healthcare professional (HCP) in the third month. HCPs will attend an online training session and follow a protocol to guide patients in goal setting. Outcome assessments will occur at baseline, three months, and six months post-randomisation to evaluate feasibility and acceptability. Semi-structured interviews with patients and HCPs will explore their experiences and acceptability outcomes at 6 months.DISCUSSION: This study aims to provide insights into the feasibility and acceptability of the FACT intervention, with the goal of improving fatigue management among survivors of critical illness. Preliminary findings will inform the design of a larger-scale RCT to evaluate its effectiveness in enhancing recovery from critical illness in patients who are experiencing fatigue.TRIAL REGISTRATION: Study ID: ISRCTN1381359. Date registered: 01/04/2025.

AB - BACKGROUND: Fatigue is a common problem that significantly affects intensive care unit (ICU) survivors' physical, psychological, and social functioning. ICU survivors often experience a loss of self-worth and identity, struggle to return to their normal roles, and face ongoing challenges with cognitive and emotional recovery. Despite its profound impact, there are limited rehabilitation interventions targeting this population. This research aims to evaluate the acceptability of implementing the Fatigue After CriTical illness (FACT) self-management intervention into usual care for patients experiencing fatigue after critical illness and the feasibility of the intervention for a future clinical trial.METHODS: This is a multicentre, open-label, feasibility randomised controlled trial (RCT) with an embedded qualitative evaluation, conducted across. Seventy participants recruited from three United Kingdom (UK) National Health Service (NHS) Trusts will be randomised either to the FACT self-management intervention following hospital discharge, which focuses on fatigue management, goal setting, and personal action planning, in addition to usual care, or to a control group receiving usual care alone. The intervention will be accessible for six months and will include a 30-min phone or video call with an ICU follow-up healthcare professional (HCP) in the third month. HCPs will attend an online training session and follow a protocol to guide patients in goal setting. Outcome assessments will occur at baseline, three months, and six months post-randomisation to evaluate feasibility and acceptability. Semi-structured interviews with patients and HCPs will explore their experiences and acceptability outcomes at 6 months.DISCUSSION: This study aims to provide insights into the feasibility and acceptability of the FACT intervention, with the goal of improving fatigue management among survivors of critical illness. Preliminary findings will inform the design of a larger-scale RCT to evaluate its effectiveness in enhancing recovery from critical illness in patients who are experiencing fatigue.TRIAL REGISTRATION: Study ID: ISRCTN1381359. Date registered: 01/04/2025.

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