Effect of self-management program on treatment adherence in patients with multiple sclerosis

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is one of the chronic diseases of the central nervous system, management and treatment of which are hinged upon proper treatment adherence. In this study, we sought to determine the effect of self-management program on treatment adherence in patients with MS.

Methods: In this clinical trial study was conducted on 78 patients with MS referred to MS Association of Zahedan, Iran, in 2016. The participants were selected through convenience sampling and randomly divided into two groups of intervention and control. The educational program was implemented for the intervention group in the form of five 90-minute in-person sessions based on problem solving. Treatment adherence of patients was measured before and two months after the last educational session using Multiple Sclerosis Treatment Adherence Questionnaire (MS-TAQ). Data analysis was performed in SPSS, version 16, using Chi-square test, as well as paired and independent t-tests.

Results: After the intervention, mean score of treatment adherence deteriorated in dimensions of barriers to treatment adherence (P=0.004) and disease side effects (P<0.0001), compared to pre-intervention, while this score increased in the dimension of Coping strategies (P<0.0001). The difference between the groups was significant in all the three dimensions (P<0.0001).

Conclusion: Self-management program reduced side effects  and barriers to treatment adherence, while enhancing Coping and treatment adherence in patients with MS. Therefore, applying this method as a nursing intervention is recommended to promote patient health.