Title: Comparative study of the effect of patient-centered and family-centered self-care education program on the quality of life and fatigue of patients with multiple sclerosis: A quasi-experimental study.

Abstract

Abstract Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) has a significant effect on the quality of life and fatigue of affected people. Performing self-care behaviors improves the quality of life of MS patients and reduces their fatigue. Effective educational methods can be used to help these patients. This study was conducted with the aim of comparing the effect of patient-centered and family-centered self-care training programs on the quality of life and fatigue of patients with multiple sclerosis. Methods:This is a quasi-experimental study that was conducted on the MS patients referred to the Iranian MS Association. Sampling was done by convenience method, and the participants were divided into three groups of intervention 1, intervention 2 and control. To create a random sequence in the three groups, blocks of nine were used. The control group received no intervention but the intervention groups 1 and 2 received the desired training in the form of workshop with the difference that in the intervention group 2, the patient participated in the training sessions along with one of his/her family members. The phone call follow-up was continued for 8 weeks after the last training session. The questionnaire of quality of life in patients with MS (MSQOL-54), fatigue scale (FIS) and demographic information form were used for data collection. The collected data was analyzed by SPSS-16 statistical software, using descriptive and statistical statistics. Result: A statistically significant difference in the mean scores of quality of life (P<0.001) and fatigue (P<0.001) was observed between both intervention groups and the control group. A statistically significant difference in the mean scores of quality of life (P<0.001) and fatigue was also observed between the intervention group 2 (family-centered training) and intervention group 1 (patient-centered training). Conclusions: The family-centered self-care training method can be used in MS patients to improve their quality of life and fatigue.