The effect of distance empowerment program on the sense of coherence among multiple sclerosis patients: A quasi-experimental study.

BACKGROUND

There is no definitive cure for multiple sclerosis, and symptom control is a crucial part of treatment. This study aimed to determine the effect of distance empowerment programs on the sense of coherence in patients with multiple sclerosis.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

This is a quasi-experimental study conducted on 64 multiple sclerosis patients from the Saveh MS Association in 2020. Participants were randomly divided into control (32) and intervention groups (32). The intervention group participated in a distance empowerment program with weekly telephone follow-ups for 2 months. Patients' sense of coherence was evaluated before and after the program using Antonovsky's Multiple Sclerosis sense of coherence scale and analyzed with SPSS software version 23.

RESULTS

The mean score of sense of coherence in the intervention group after the implementation of the empowerment program was 68.93 ± 9.99, which showed a statistically significant difference compared to before the intervention (P < .001).

CONCLUSIONS

Distance empowerment affects the sense of coherence of patients with multiple sclerosis and has led to an increase in sense of coherence scores after the empowerment program.