Psychological Status of Multiple Sclerosis Patients: A Qualitative Study

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic progressive disease coinciding with the ages of social activities. Therefore, this disease is associated with significant effects on the quality of life and psychological status of these patients. It is well-accepted that the psychological status of patients is an effective factor in the process of treatment and living in chronic conditions. With this background in mind, the present study was conducted to identify the psychological status of these patients from their own perspective and specialists' viewpoints.

The current qualitative study was conducted with a thematic analysis approach. The participants of the current study included 24 MS patients with maximum diversity in gender, age, illness duration and severity, and 8 experts in neurology, psychiatry, clinical psychology, and nursing from Guilan province. Participants were selected by a purposive sampling method and the data were gathered through unstructured interviews which continued up to data saturation. Data analysis was performed using a thematic analysis approach by the Attride-Stirling method.

From the total information, three global themes, including individual problems, interactive problems, and disease-related problems were identified. Individual problems included: personality disorders, depression, sleep, cognitive, anxiety, physical, self-regulation, selfdestructive behaviors, psychosis, as well as substance and alcohol abuse. Interactive problems incorporated: interpersonal sensitivity, aggression, sexual, social, and dependence. In addition, disease-related problems involved reaction to disease.

As evidenced by the obtained results, patients with MS are involved in several psychological problems in individual, interactive and disease-related domains. Accordingly, it is necessary to develop and present psychological programs and interventions based on these problems in order to improve their mental status, quality of life, and adaptability.