@article { , title = {The hand-held fan and the Calming Hand for people with chronic breathlessness: a feasibility trial}, abstract = {Context: The battery-operated hand-held fan (“fan”)and the Calming Hand (CH), a cognitive strategy, are interventions used in clinical practice to relieve chronic breathlessness. Objective: To test the feasibility of a Phase III randomized controlled trial (RCT)evaluating the impact of the fan and/or CH compared with exercise advice alone for the relief of chronic breathlessness due to respiratory conditions. Methods: A single-site, feasibility “2 × 2” factorial, nonblinded, mixed-methods RCT was performed. Participants randomly allocated to four groups: fan + exercise advice, CH + exercise advice, fan + CH + exercise advice, and exercise advice alone. Measures included recruitment, acceptability, data quality and study outcomes (baseline and day 28), modified Incremental Shuttle Walk Test (mISWT), recovery time from exertion-induced breathlessness, life-space questionnaire, General Self-Efficacy Scale, and breathlessness numerical rating scales. Willing participants and carers were interviewed at study end. Results: Recruitment/acceptability/data completion: 53 people were screened, 40 randomized and completed (mean age 72 years (SD 9.8), 70\% male). There were few missing data (mISWT, n = 2). Recovery time (seconds)from exertion-induced breathlessness showed most improvement for the fan; mean reduction from baseline −33.5 vs. CH mean increase from baseline 5.7. This represents a recovery speed at day 28 (−20.4\%)faster for the fan vs. 4.1\% slower for the CH. Qualitative data indicated participants valued the faster recovery and identified the fan as a useful “medical” device but found the CH unhelpful. Conclusion: A Phase III RCT is feasible. Mixed-methods data synthesis supports recovery time as a novel, meaningful outcome measure.}, doi = {10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2019.02.017}, eissn = {1873-6513}, issn = {0885-3924}, issue = {6}, journal = {Journal of Pain and Symptom Management}, pages = {1051-1061.e1}, publicationstatus = {Published}, publisher = {Elsevier}, url = {https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/1345861}, volume = {57}, keyword = {Health and Health Inequalities, Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, General Nursing, Clinical Neurology}, year = {2019}, author = {Swan, Flavia and English, Anne and Allgar, Victoria and Hart, Simon P. and Johnson, Miriam J.} }