A patient-centered journal club for health education in women with fibromyalgia: A pilot study.

BACKGROUND

This study evaluated the effects of a patient journal club educational program on quality of life, cyberchondria, and key pain-related variables (intensity, catastrophizing, acceptance, self-efficacy) in women with fibromyalgia.

METHODS

A pre-post study design was employed. Twenty women with fibromyalgia (mean age 50.8±7.5 years) participated in a three-week patient journal club educational program. The journal club included collaborative planning, material preparation, and individual reading of adapted scientific articles. The sessions were moderated in person by a speech-language pathologist with six years of university teaching experience but no prior specialized training in chronic pain, ensuring a neutral facilitation of the group discussions. Outcome measures assessed were quality of life, pain intensity, pain catastrophizing, pain self-efficacy, pain acceptance and cyberchondria.

RESULTS

Significant improvements were observed in quality of life (p=0.001, d=-0.85), pain intensity (p=0.005, d=-0.74), pain catastrophizing (p<0.001, d=-1.11), pain acceptance (p=0.028, d=0.53) and cyberchondria (p=0.003, d=-0.75). Pain self-efficacy showed no statistically significant change (p=0.083, d=0.41).

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that the patient journal club is a promising tool for improving quality of life, and reducing pain intensity, pain catastrophizing and cyberchondria in women with fibromyalgia. Given the study's small sample size and lack of a control group, further research with larger, controlled trials is necessary to validate these results.