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. 2019 Jan 30;9(1):e026793. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2018-026793

Table 1.

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

In order to be considered eligible for participation in the study they must:
Criterion Characteristics of eligible participants
1. Be male or female aged ≥18 years at the time of consent.
2. Have been diagnosed with an IRD such as RA, SLE or AxSpA by a consultant rheumatologist.
3. Report fatigue to be a persistent problem as evidenced by answering both questions:

  1. Have you had problems with fatigue for more than 3 months? (Yes).

  2. Please circle the number that shows your average level of fatigue during the past 7 days. (≥6 based on a numerical rating scale of 0 (no fatigue) to 10 (totally exhausted)).
4. Have access to a telephone landline or mobile telephone and/or internet-based audio/video calls.
5. Give permission for researchers to access their hospital medical notes.
6. Have stable disease as evidenced by no change in immunomodulatory therapy within the last 3 months based on hospital medical records.
7. Currently be under the care of a secondary care physician.
Participants will be excluded if:
Criterion Characteristics of ineligible participants
1. There are significant abnormalities in thyroid function (TSH levels) in the most recent blood test done within the last 3 months.
2. There is evidence of severe anaemia (haemoglobin levels) in the most recent blood test done within the last 3 months.
3. There is evidence of severe renal dysfunction (eGFR) in the most recent blood test done within the last 3 months.
4. They have a medical condition which would make the proposed interventions unsuitable, for example, significant heart disease.
5. They are pregnant.
6. They are unable to understand English sufficiently to take part in the intervention.
7. They are unable to provide written informed consent.
8. They are not willing to be randomised.
9. They are currently participating in an interventional clinical trial.

AxSpA, axial spondyloarthritis; eGFR, estimated glomerular filtration rate; IRD, inflammatory rheumatic disease; RA, rheumatoid arthritis; SLE, systemic lupus erythematosus; TSH, thyroid stimulating hormone.