Evaluation of an Education Program to Improve Self-management in Newly Diagnosed Individuals with Multiple Sclerosis

Background: Newly diagnosed individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS) require education to develop the knowledge, skills and tasks necessary for self-management of their disease. Inability to self-manage results in higher rates of emergency department visits, hospitalizations, radiology services, and outpatient visits. Provision of a structured education program for newly diagnosed individuals could improve outcomes, reduce disability and cost to the healthcare system.
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the value of an APRN-led structured education program to improve self-management skills and tasks in newly diagnosed individuals with MS.
Design: A quasi-experimental study was conducted with a single group pretest/posttest comparison using the Multiple Sclerosis Self-Management Scale-Revised.
Methods: A pre and post self-management survey was conducted to evaluate the improvement in the self-management knowledge, skills and tasks of individuals newly diagnosed with multiple sclerosis following an education intervention. The survey was administered to seven individuals who received care at a comprehensive, patient-centered academic MS center in the mid-Atlantic tri-state area. A Wilcoxon Matched-pairs test signed-rank test was used to compare pre-intervention and post-intervention self-management survey scores.
Results: A statistically significant improvement was not found between the pretest and posttest scores (z = -1.57, p = .127) following participation in the educational intervention. The Cohen’s d (r = .58) is considered to be a moderate effect size and suggests the educational intervention was clinically effective in improving self-management in participants newly diagnosed with MS.