{"id":29261,"date":"2021-01-14T21:14:37","date_gmt":"2021-01-14T21:14:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wames.org.uk\/cms-english\/?p=29261"},"modified":"2021-01-14T21:15:59","modified_gmt":"2021-01-14T21:15:59","slug":"a-qualitative-analysis-of-teachers-experiences-of-cfs-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wames.org.uk\/cms-english\/a-qualitative-analysis-of-teachers-experiences-of-cfs-me\/","title":{"rendered":"A qualitative analysis of teachers’ experiences of CFS\/ME"},"content":{"rendered":"

‘It’s a medical condition … you need to support as much as possible’: A qualitative analysis of teachers’ experiences of chronic fatigue syndrome\/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS\/ME)<\/a>, by Amberly Brigden, Alison Shaw, Esther Crawley in<\/span>\u00a0BMC Pediatrics<\/em>\u00a0Vol 21, #1, p 6,\u00a0January 4, 2021<\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

Research abstract:<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Background<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"An increasing number of children with complex health needs are being educated in mainstream classes. CFS\/ME is a complex and disabling condition, and there is little guidance on how primary school teachers can support younger children with this condition. To improve care, it is important to understand what these children need in the school setting, and the barriers and facilitators to teachers providing this support.<\/p>\n

The aims for this qualitative study were to explore teachers’ views about CFS\/ME, their experiences of supporting a pupil with CFS\/ME and their perspectives on the barriers and facilitators to providing support.<\/p>\n

Methods<\/strong><\/p>\n

We recruited families from an NHS specialist paediatric CFS\/ME service\u00a0and families were eligible if the child was aged between 5 and 11 years\u00a0and had a diagnosis of CFS\/ME. We gained written consent\/assent from\u00a0families to invite the child’s teacher to participate in a qualitative\u00a0interview. We contacted these teachers, gained written consent and then carried out semi-structured qualitative interviews. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, anonymised and analysed thematically. Interviews took place between July 2018 and December 2018.<\/p>\n

Results<\/strong><\/p>\n

We interviewed 11 teachers; their pupil’s age ranged from 5 to 11 years\u00a0and school attendance ranged from 0 to 80%.<\/p>\n

Theme 1:<\/strong> Most teachers provided rich descriptions of their pupil’s CFS\/ME; they consistently described cognitive dysfunction and significant fatigue, but beyond this\u00a0the symptoms varied from one account to the next (from mobility\u00a0problems, to aches and pains, digestive problems, headaches, nausea and\u00a0hypersensitivity). These teachers noted the ripple effects on their\u00a0pupil’s social, emotional and academic functioning. Two of the eleven\u00a0teachers said that they did not observe symptoms of CFS\/ME, expressing a\u00a0degree of scepticism about the diagnosis.<\/p>\n

Theme 2:<\/strong> Teachers described a\u00a0close relationship with their pupil. They said they understood the\u00a0individual needs of the child and portrayed positive and proactive\u00a0attitudes towards providing support. The type of support provided\u00a0included facilitating rest breaks and limiting strenuous activities;\u00a0using practical strategies to address cognitive, physical, social and\u00a0emotional difficulties; maintaining a connection with the child during\u00a0their absences from school; and encouraging the child to talk about\u00a0their health and wellbeing. Teachers noted that receiving formal\u00a0confirmation of the child’s diagnosis enabled them to put this support\u00a0in place.<\/p>\n

Theme 3:<\/strong> The adaptations they described were often intuitive,\u00a0rather than being based on a knowledge of CFS\/ME. Teachers wanted more\u00a0resources to increase their understanding of the condition and its\u00a0management.<\/p>\n

Conclusions<\/strong><\/p>\n

Primary school teachers want to provide effective support for children\u00a0with CFS\/ME. Clinical services should consider working in collaboration\u00a0with teachers to equip them with evidence-based strategies for CFS\/ME\u00a0management in the primary school setting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

‘It’s a medical condition … you need to support as much as possible’: A qualitative analysis of teachers’ experiences of chronic fatigue syndrome\/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS\/ME), by Amberly Brigden, Alison Shaw, Esther Crawley in\u00a0BMC Pediatrics\u00a0Vol 21, #1, p 6,\u00a0January 4, 2021 … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[3491,4000,257,416,1016,6442,283],"class_list":["post-29261","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-alison-shaw","tag-amberly-brigden","tag-children","tag-dr-esther-crawley","tag-paediatrics","tag-primary-school","tag-teachers"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5qkYK-7BX","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wames.org.uk\/cms-english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29261","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wames.org.uk\/cms-english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wames.org.uk\/cms-english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wames.org.uk\/cms-english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wames.org.uk\/cms-english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29261"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/wames.org.uk\/cms-english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29261\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29443,"href":"https:\/\/wames.org.uk\/cms-english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29261\/revisions\/29443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wames.org.uk\/cms-english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29261"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wames.org.uk\/cms-english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29261"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wames.org.uk\/cms-english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29261"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}