A comparative study of health promoting behaviors in healthy individuals and patients with multiple sclerosis: An analytical study

Health promoting behaviors have been recognized as an important strategy for maintaining and improving the independence, health and quality of life of people with chronic diseases. The aim of the present study was to compare the health promoting behaviors of patients with MS with those of healthy people.
Methods & Materials: This cross-sectional, comparative study was conducted on MS patients and healthy people in Guilan province in 2018. For this purpose, 120 MS patients (from the MS association of Guilan province and other health centers) and 120 healthy people were selected by the convenience sampling method. The Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile (HPLP-II) was used to collect the data. The data were analyzed using the SPSS software version 22.

The results showed that health promoting behaviors of MS patients were significantly lower than those of healthy people (t=-3.127, df=238, P<0.001). The results of the components analysis indicated that the mean ranks of self-actualization (U=4948.500, Z=-4.191, P<0.001), interpersonal relationships (U=12874.000, Z=-2.957, P<0.003), stress management (U=5787.000, Z=-2.644, P<0.008) and physical activity (U=5506.500, Z=-3.156, P<0.002) in MS patients were significantly lower than those in healthy people. However, there was no significant difference between MS patients and healthy people in the components of health responsibility and nutrition.

In general, it can be concluded that chronic conditions are associated with a decrease in health promoting behaviors in MS patients, and the patients should be educated in this area using appropriate nursing and psychological interventions.