Patient information and coping styles in multiple sclerosis

¹ The Norwegian Centre for Movement Disorders, Stavanger University Hospital, Stavanger, Norway
² Centre of Behavioural Research, University of Stavanger, Stavanger, Norway
³ Department of Neurology, Stavanger University Hospital, Stavanger, Norway
⁴ The Multiple Sclerosis National Competence Centre, Department of Neurology, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed.

	Abstract

Background

Patients with multiple sclerose (MS) live with their disease for many years. The cause of the disease is unknown and there are no curative therapies. Patients' adaption to chronic disease is dependent on the effectiveness of coping behaviour.

Objectives

To explore the correlation between the quality of perceived disease information and to estimate the correspondance between the quality of perceived disease information and later coping styles applied by MS-patients in stress situations related to their disease.

Methods

Of a total of 108 patients recently diagnosed with MS, 93 agreed to participate in the study and 86 of these completed two different questionnaires, one assessing quality of the perceived information and the other asessing coping styles (the COPE scale).

Results

43.2% of the patients were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the information by the time of diagnosis. MS-related coping styles were influenced by general coping styles and the most frequently employed strategies were 'positive reinterpretation and growth', 'planning' and 'restraint coping' while 'denial' was the most infrequently employed strategy. Patients who were satisfied with the information employed avoidance coping to a lesser extent and more actively both plan and seek information about the situation.

Conclusion

Optimizing the information process in the early phase of the disease may induce coping styles that produce a better adaption to living with MS.

Key Words: multiple sclerosis, coping, information quality, newly diagnosed

First published on February 16, 2007, doi:10.1177/1352458506073482

Multiple Sclerosis 2007;13:792.

A more recent version of this article appeared on July 1, 2007


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				K Lode, E Bru, G Klevan, K. Myhr, H Nyland, and J. Larsen Depressive symptoms and coping in newly diagnosed patients with multiple sclerosis Multiple Sclerosis, May 1, 2009; 15(5): 638 - 643. [Abstract] [PDF]