The Effectiveness of Adding a Health Education Program to Fibromyalgia Treatment: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Objectives Evaluate the effectiveness of adding health education programs to a fibromyalgia intervention, focusing on pain intensity and the impact of fibromyalgia on quality of life. Design Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Data Sources Databases: Web of Science, Medline, Scopus, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature and PsycINFO. Review/Analysis Methods Literature from 2005–2025 was reviewed. Risk of bias was assessed by two researchers using the Cochrane Collaboration’s tool. Quality of evidence was measured using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation tool. Results The systematic review included 7 randomized controlled trials. 6 studies were included in the meta-analysis of the impact of fibromyalgia on quality of life, and five in the pain intensity meta-analysis. Meta-analysis results showed that health education significantly reduced pain intensity (MD=-13.10; 95% CI [-22.06, - 4.14], p=0.004) and improved the impact of fibromyalgia on quality of life (SMD=-0.39; 95% CI [-0.55, -0.23], p<.001). Subgroup analyses showed that adding education to usual care led to clinically relevant reduction in pain intensity (MD=-19.53; 95% CI [-31.68, -7.39], p=0.002) and statistically significant improvement in the impacf of fibromyalgia on quality of life (SMD=-0.46; 95% CI [-0.66, -0.26], p < .001). Conclusions Health education programs are effective in improving pain intensity and reducing the impact of fibromyalgia on quality of life. Further research is needed to support findings. Nursing Practice Implications By implementing health education for fibromyalgia patients, nurses can improve outcomes, enhancing the quality of care provided.