Symptom management effectivness in multiple sclerosis patients

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to describe perceptions of self-rated symptom management effectiveness over time in multiple sclerosis clients living in the community. Secondary data analysis was conducted on Lamb's (1993) study Comprehensive Case Mana~ement for Individuals with Pro~ressive Forms of Multiple Sclerosis: An Experimental Study. The four most frequently identified symptoms were pain, mood, bladder problem and activity level. Symptom management strategies identified to deal with reported bothersome symptoms were grouped by similarity into 13 clusters. The symptom management strategy clusters were discussed at two points in time with a decrease in symptom management strategies noted at T-2. The mean effectiveness of symptom management strategies increased slightly from a baseline of M=2.4 to M=2.5 over time. The secondary study clarifies the components necessary to examine more comprehensively symptom management strategy effectiveness and establishes a basis for further research.