Abstract
This study, conducted in three separate outpatient health care delivery settings, examined the therapeutic expectations of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) before they initiated interferon beta-1b therapy, the results of current educational procedures to correct unrealistic expectations, and the relationship between post-education expectations and discontinuing therapy. Ninety-nine consecutive patients were seen in a university based outpatient MS clinic, an academic group practice outpatient MS clinic, or a health maintenance organization outpatient neurology clinic. Before the educational sessions, 57% of the patients expressed unrealistically optimistic expectations regarding reduction in attack rate and 34% expressed unrealistically optimistic expectations regarding improvement in functional status. Educational procedures significantly altered unrealistic expectations but the results were sub-optimal since 33% of the patients maintained overly optimistic expectations regarding reduction in attack rate. Post-education unrealistic expectations of improvement in functional status were significantly related to discontinuing therapy within 6 months. Three adverse effects of therapy also were related independently to adherence to treatment: depression and flu-like symptoms were related to discontinuing therapy while soreness at injection site was related to continuing therapy.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 222-226 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Multiple Sclerosis |
Volume | 2 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1996 |
Keywords
- Adherence
- Compliance
- Interferon beta 1-b
- Multiple sclerosis
- Side effects
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Neurology
- Clinical Neurology