EFA-Project
Empowerment through Knowledge: explaining cancer-related fatigue with patient-centered video education in diverse languages
Project coordination
Dr. Patricia Blickle, Dr. Martina Schmidt, Imke Veit-Schirmer, Renate Schoenmakers, Prof. Dr. Karen Steindorf
Summary
Cancer-related fatigue affects up to 90 percent of cancer patients and manifests itself in severe physical, emotional or mental exhaustion. It can significantly impair quality of life, however, it is often not sufficiently explained, which may lead to increased anxiety and stress and, consequently, make it more difficult to take effective action. Early education, preferably at the start of therapy, is therefore essential and is recommended by guidelines such as NCCN and ESMO.
The aim of the EFA project was to create a video that informs patients about fatigue, provides them with self-management tips for dealing with fatigue, and encourages them to make use of support services. To this end, between February 2025 and October 2025, an interdisciplinary project team consisting of researchers and patient representatives from the NCT Patient Council Heidelberg worked on the creation of an animated video that explains fatigue in an understandable way, presents strategies for coping with it, and identifies suitable points of contact. The project was funded by the NCT program Donations Against Cancer (link).
In order to reach as many patients as possible, the video was produced in several languages (German, English, Turkish, Arabic). In the future, the dissemination of the video will be facilitated by various internet platforms and channels.
The English version of the video can be found here (under construction).