Effect of self-care educational program based on Orem’s Theory on hope in patients with Multiple Sclerosis

Background and Objective: Multiple sclerosis (MS) as one of the major causes of disability in the world, can create a sense of hopelessness in patient. Thus the application of self-care methods is very important for these patients. The current study was conducted to determine the effect of self-care educational program based on Orem’s Theory on hope in patients with Multiple sclerosis.

Materials and Method: In this clinical trial study, 88 patients with multiple sclerosis who were registered in MS Association of Zahedan, were selected through convenience sampling and then randomly allocated into two intervention and control groups of 44 people in 2014-2015. Then, nine educational sessions were designed and conducted according to patients’ needs based on Orem’s Theory. The rate of implementing the program by patients was measured through a self-report checklist. The hope of patients was measured by Snyder Hope Scale before and 3 months after the intervention. Data were analyzed by SPSS 16 using independent T-test, paired t-test and Chi-square.

Results: The mean of total hope score, aspects of pathway thinking and agency thinking didn’t show significant difference between two groups before and after the intervention, but the mean of change score of total hope and aspects of pathway thinking and agency thinking in intervention group was increased significantly after the educational program in compare with control group (p<0.001).

Conclusion: According to the results, implementation of Orem’s self-care program can increase the hope in patients with MS. Given the limitations of the present study, further studies is recommended.