The Kennedy Trust has partnered with Versus Arthritis to fund a comprehensive scoping review on the ways of measuring, assessing and treating severe fatigue associated with rheumatic and related musculoskeletal disorders. The review will be carried out by Assistant Professor Emma Dures and her team at the University of the West of England over 12 months from August 2023.

The project initially originated from a joint workshop held by both organisations in 2020 to identify priorities for musculoskeletal fatigue research. Participants from a diverse group of clinical and academic backgrounds, along with people with lived experience of fatigue, worked together to identify tangible areas of research where collaboration between funders could achieve an impact on the lives of people living with musculoskeletal fatigue. Working with a small steering group, we were able to stratify the outputs of the workshop into practical recommendations to be taken forward in partnership by Versus Arthritis and the Kennedy Trust. The steering group set a vision for the partnership of:

“Uncovering the fundamentals of fatigue, revealing its hidden world, breaking down its stigma, and removing its hold on people with long-term conditions. Through partnership and collaboration, we will better define and measure fatigue, we will ensure the key elements of fatigue are understood and we will invest in new and existing solutions to better prevent, intervene, and manage fatigue. The partnership will elevate the national platform of fatigue and create a network of patients, research funders, scientists, and healthcare professionals working collaboratively across conditions, disciplines, and geographical boundaries. For many, fatigue is overlooked, under-prioritised, and not understood. Together we will address this most significant of unmet healthcare needs for people living with musculoskeletal, and other long-term, conditions.”

It is hoped that the outputs of this scoping review will provide an important guide to inform future research in this area.