The Effect of Telerehabilitation Cares on Fatigue in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis

Fatigue is one of the most common symptoms in people with multiple sclerosis. Fatigue reduces the various motor, sensory and psychological functions of the patients and is the source of problems in performing daily activities in their lives. Due to the Covide-19 pandemic, rehabilitation nurses should adopt coherent programs that are appropriate for the available facilities for these patients. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of telerehabilitation cares on the fatigue of patients with multiple sclerosis.

The present study was a quasi-experimental study in two groups. Participants included of 36 patients referred to the Iranian MS Association in 2021 who were selected by available methods based on inclusion criteria. Data collection tools included of a demographic information form and a standard questionnaire for measuring the severity of fatigue, which was completed by both intervention and control groups. In addition to routine cares, the intervention group also received telerehabilitation cares. Data analysis was performed using SPSS software version 26.

The results of this study showed that, although the mean of fatigue scores in the intervention group changed from 4.383 to 4.765, but there was no statistically significant difference (p = 0.450). Also, the mean of this score in the control group changed from 4.963 to 4.475 after the intervention.

The findings of this study revealed that telerehabilitation cares and effective training are not effective to reducing fatigue in patients with multiple sclerosis. Therefore, to reduce this common problem, rehabilitation nurses should apply programs that are more effective and consistent with the available facilities for these patients.