The Effect of Training on Self-Care and Controlling Disease-Related Complications in Woman with Multiple Sclerosis: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic disease of central nervous system, which causes a lot of complications and problems for patients and leads to their disability and dependency in life. The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of self-care training program on controlling disease-related complications in women with multiple sclerosis.   In this interventional study, 70 women with multiple sclerosis were selected by simple random sampling. The selected subjects were randomly assigned to two groups of intervention and control. Data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire and completed by structured interview. The training classes were held in two sessions for the test group and the questionnaires were completed again by both groups three months later. Data were analyzed using independent t-, paired t-, Chi-square, Fisher exact, and Mann-Whitney tests.   The mean score of self-care of the patients in the intervention group significantly increased after the intervention; so that their mean score increased from 35.42 to 59.51 (p<0.05). Moreover, Before the intervention, the mean score of muscle cramp of the intervention group, was 3.4; fatigue, 4.14; constipation, 3.17; and amnesia, 3.25; But after self-care training program, this mean decreased to 1.91, fatigue to 2.68, constipation to 1.2, and amnesia to 1.71 (p<0.05).   Reduction in MS physical complications in the intervention group, as compared to the control group, was indicative of the positive effect of the training program. Therefore, it seems that training these patients and encouraging them to perform the self-care program can have beneficial results.