Prevalence and Treatment of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ME and Co-morbid Severe Health Anxiety

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) is a debilitating condition that affects 0.2–0.4% of the population. Health focussed anxiety is common across medical conditions, and may be relevant in CFS/ME. This study sought to identify the prevalence and impact of health anxiety (HA) in CFS/ME and evaluate the effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for HA in CFS/ME. Cross-sectional questionnaire methods and case-series design were used to achieve study aims. Analysis indicated that 41.9% of the CFS/ME clinic sample experienced threshold levels of health anxiety, which was associated with elevated symptom severity across several dimensions. Stepwise multiple regression indicated physical functioning and depression accounted for 23.8% of variance in fatigue; depression, fatigue and HA, accounted for 32.9% of variance in physical functioning. Large effect sizes and clinically significant changes were generated in the treatment study. HA is common in CFS/ME and likely to exacerbate fatigue and physical functioning. This study identifies HA as an important target for treatment, trial findings should be further replicated on a larger scale.</p

Behaviour change interventions for the management of Raynaud's Phenomenon: A systematic review

Objectives Raynaud’s phenomenon (RP) is a significant cause of morbidity. Vasodilator medications cause unwanted adverse effects, with behavioural and lifestyle changes forming the mainstay of self-management; this is difficult to implement successfully. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the efficacy of behaviour change interventions for RP and identify learning points for future treatment development.Design Systematic literature review and narrative synthesis of findings.Data sources EMBASE, MEDLINE, Cochrane and PsycINFO were searched for eligible studies on 22 August 2017.Eligibility criteria Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of behaviour change interventions with at least one control comparator arm.Data extraction and synthesis Study selection, data extraction and risk of bias were assessed independently by two reviewers, reaching consensus with a third when necessary. Primary outcomes of interest included severity/impact, frequency and duration of RP episodes, pain, disability, adverse events and study withdrawal.Results Of 638 articles retrieved, eight studies fulfilled criteria for inclusion. Biofeedback was the active behaviour change treatment arm for seven studies, with one study reporting a behavioural intervention. Studies were published 1978–2002; six were USA-based studies, one German and one Swedish. Using Cochrane Risk of Bias assessment, studies were assessed to be overall at high risk of bias, with the exception of one large RCT. The total sample included 495 participants (study median=29), with a median age of 39.5 years and preponderance towards females (73%). Five studies reported significant effects in primary outcomes of interest; however, due to missing data, relative efficacy of interventions could not be reliably assessed.Conclusions There is no evidence to support or refute claims of the efficacy of behaviour change interventions for the management of RP. There remains a strong case for developing and testing behaviour change interventions that focus on self-management; however, theoretical development and advancement in trial quality is imperative to underpin future work

Walking the Talk: Moving Indigenous Studies from the Classroom to the Community

A presentation by the students of Anthropology 4050: Canadian Status/Treaty Indian Reserve Communities. In this session students will showcase their final assignments from the course ANTH 4050. Throughout the course we have discussed the complexities of the history of the reserve system in Canada, the nuances of the Treaty process, the rigidity of the Indian Act, the traumas of residential schools, and lived implications of forced relocations on Indigenous communities. We have examined how colonial relations are spatialized and how this spacialization translates into lived social relations. This showcase represents our desire to share what we have learned and why it matters with our TRU community in the hopes of nurturing a space of understanding, compassion, and mutually respectful conversation. Students will be in attendance to discuss their work from 3:30 - 6:00p

Evaluating Proposals

workshop material

Resources

A Bibliography of Resources mentioned in talks and panels at the forum

Maximizing Research Impact

December 2016 Meeting: How Promoting Open and Reproducible Research Helps Funding Organizations Meet Their Missio

RFIs of Interest

Requests for Information that stakeholders at this meeting are encouraged to respond to