Evaluation of the needs of patients with multiple sclerosis

ABSTRACT

Multiple sclerosis [MS] is a demyelinating disease of the central nervous system that causes many problems in patients. Since training should be done in according to the educational needs, this study is performed to assess the educational needs of MS patients. This is a descriptive cross-sectional study, and its tool was a questionnaire on the educational needs of MS patients. Fifty patients referred to the MS society were selected through simple sampling. Based on the obtained results, 60% of patients were female, 52% were single, and 16% were high school undergraduates. Seventy-eight percent of the patients needed training about disease nature, 82% about treatment and care, 46% about nutrition, and 32% about physical activity. The findings showed that patients need more education about treatment and self-care.