Arroll, Megan A, Attree, Elizabeth A, Marshall, Clare L et al. · Psychology research and behavior management · 2014 · DOI
This pilot study tested whether an online program designed to help people manage ME/CFS symptoms could be helpful for patients. Researchers compared this specialized program to an online meditation program and tracked changes in fatigue, symptoms, and how much control people felt they had over their condition over 8 weeks. The specialized program showed some benefits, particularly in helping people feel more in control and improving sleep difficulties, though overall ME/CFS symptoms didn't change significantly.
This study is important because it explores a non-pharmacological management tool for ME/CFS patients who have experienced harm or found cognitive behavioral therapy and graded exercise therapy unacceptable. Understanding whether online symptom management programs can improve perceived control and specific symptoms like sleep offers a potentially safer alternative approach worthy of further research.
This pilot study does not prove the program is effective for treating ME/CFS broadly, as the sample was small and the study period was short. It also does not establish whether benefits would persist beyond 8 weeks or translate to improvements in overall disease burden or quality of life. Differences in locus of control and sleep, while statistically significant, may not represent clinically meaningful improvements for patients.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Arroll, Megan A, Attree, Elizabeth A, Marshall, Clare L, & Dancey, Christine P (2014). Pilot study investigating the utility of a specialized online symptom management program for individuals with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome as compared to an online meditation program.. Psychology research and behavior management. https://doi.org/10.2147/PRBM.S63193
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-arroll-2014-pilot-study,
author = {Arroll, Megan A and Attree, Elizabeth A and Marshall, Clare L and Dancey, Christine P},
title = {Pilot study investigating the utility of a specialized online symptom management program for individuals with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome as compared to an online meditation program.},
journal = {Psychology research and behavior management},
year = {2014},
doi = {10.2147/PRBM.S63193},
note = {PubMed: 25214803},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/arroll-2014-pilot-study},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-27. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/arroll-2014-pilot-study
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