PLANNING AND EVALUATION OF STRESS MANAGEMENTEDUCATIONAL PROGRAM TO IMPROVE BEHAVIOR IN MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS PATIENTS BASED ON BASNEF MODEL

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is one of the most common diseases of the central nervous system. MS is the result of damage to myelin. There is the exact relationship between stress and the onset or progression of MS so stress management is important in MS patients. This study intended toinvestigatethe effect of stress management educational program based on Basnef model to improve behavior in MS patients. This was a quasi-experimental study that was performed on 100 MS patients between the ages of 15-50 years from Sina and Shariati hospitals, Tehran. Participants in the study randomly divided into two groups: experimental and control groups.The instruments for data collecting were a questionnaire which was developed by the researcher and established based on the Basnef model. The both groupscompleted the questionnaires before and one month after intervention, while only the patients in the experimental group participated in 3 educational intervention sessions. Eventually, the data were analyzed by using independent-t, chi-square and mann-whitney statistical tests. Our findings indicated that both groups didn’t have any significant difference based on Basnef model variables (attitudes, subjective norm, enabling factors, and intention) before intervention. But the mean scores of Basnef model variables were significantly increased in the experimental group compared to the controls after intervention. Also behavioral methods of stress managementimproved significantly among the experimental group, compared to control group. Since stress management is highly recommended for MS patients, applying the Basnef model is very effective for developing an educational program for MS patients in order to control their stress.