The role of self-care behaviors and spiritual experiences in predicting quality of life in MS patients

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is one of the most common chronic diseases of the central nervous system. Chronic nature of the disease, lack of definitive treatment, and involvement of a young person can have a devastating effect on the quality of life of the patient.

the purpose of this study was to investigate the role of self-care behaviors and spiritual experiences in predicting the quality of life in patients with multiple sclerosis.

The research method was descriptive –analytical. Research population is patients who were registered in Society of Patients Registered in the M.S Association of Tehran by 2018. The sample consisted of 210 patients who were selected by simple random sampling. They responded to three questionnaires of quality of life (SF-36), self-care behaviors by conn (1991), and underwood and Teresi chr('39') daily spiritual experiences (DSES). Data were analyzed using correlation coefficient and multiple regression analysis by SPSS version 24.

The results showed a significant positive relationship between quality of life and its components with self-care behavior and spiritual experiences of patients with multiple sclerosis. The results also showed that self-care and spiritual experiences explain 0.28 of the total variance of quality of life in patients with multiple sclerosis.

The results emphasize the positive relationship between self-care behaviors and spiritual experiences in improving the quality of life in patients with MS. Therefore, it is suggested to be considered by that patients and nurses be considered to improve patient health.