Jones, KellyKrishnamurthi, RitaBarker-Collo, SuzanneDe Silva, SulekhaHenry, NathanZeng, IreneVorster, AnjaTe Ao, BradenGreen, GeoffRatnasabapathy, YoginiFeigin, Valery2025-02-112025-02-112024Journal of the American Heart Association, ISSN: 2047-9980 (Print); 2047-9980 (Online), Wiley, 14(1), e034441-e034441. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.124.0344412047-99802047-9980http://hdl.handle.net/10292/18637BACKGROUND: Poststroke fatigue affects ≈50% of patients with stroke, causing significant personal, societal, and economic burden. In the FASTER (Fatigue After Stroke Educational Recovery) study, we assessed a group-based educational intervention for poststroke fatigue. METHODS AND RESULTS: Two hundred patients with clinically significant fatigue were included and randomized to either a general stroke education control or fatigue management group (FMG) intervention and assessed at baseline, 6 weeks, and 3 months. The FMG involved weekly psychoeducation sessions over 6 weeks. Coprimary outcomes were the Fatigue Severity Scale and Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory-20 total scores. Adjusted mean total Fatigue Severity Scale scores at 6 weeks (primary end point) were nearly identical for the education control and FMG groups. The adjusted mean difference between treatment groups was -0.13 (SE, 1.4; P=0.92) at 6 weeks and 1.67 (SE, 1.4; P=0.26) at 3 months. Although there were no significant effects, Fatigue Severity Scale outcomes were in the direction of a treatment effect based on the estimated change. Adjusted mean total Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory-20 scores at 6 weeks (primary end point) were similar for the education control and FMG groups. The adjusted mean difference between treatment groups was -0.91 (SE, 1.54; P=0.55) at 6 weeks and -1.26 (SE, 1.8; P=0.49) at 3 months. Both groups had similar secondary outcomes (eg, Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory-20 subscales, sleep, pain, mood, quality of life) at 6 weeks and 3 months. CONCLUSIONS: We found no evidence of significant group-level benefits of FMG over and above general stroke education. Educational group-based interventions for poststroke fatigue should continue to be refined and examined, including consideration of potential impacts at an individual level. REGISTRATION: URL: https://www.anzctr.org.au/; UnIque identifier: ACTRN12619000626167.© 2024 The Author(s). Published on behalf of the American Heart Association, Inc., by Wiley. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution‐NonCommercial License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/educationfatigueinterventionstrokeeducationfatigueinterventionstroke32 Biomedical and Clinical Sciences3201 Cardiovascular Medicine and HaematologyStrokeCerebrovascularBrain DisordersBehavioral and Social Science7.1 Individual care needs6.6 Psychological and behavioural6.7 PhysicalStroke4 Quality Education1102 Cardiorespiratory Medicine and Haematology3201 Cardiovascular medicine and haematologyJournal ArticleOpenAccess10.1161/JAHA.124.034441