Confidence communicating about multiple sclerosis among enrolees in an online course.

BACKGROUND

Effective communication is essential for multiple sclerosis (MS) disease management. Improving communication about MS may improve healthcare and service quality.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate confidence in communicating about MS in a cohort of MS community members and to assess the impact of participation in the Understanding MS massive open online course (MOOC) on communication confidence. The Understanding MS MOOC is a freely available six-week online course that covers a range of topics related to MS, including its underlying pathology, symptoms, risk factors, and management.

METHODS

We assessed communication confidence among Understanding MS MOOC enrolees (N = 905) at three timepoints: prior to their participation in the course, immediately following course completion, and six months following course completion. Communication confidence was quantified using 5-point Likert scale questions. We identified factors that were associated with communication confidence using chi square and t-tests. Among course completers who also completed all three study surveys (N = 88), we assessed the impact of course participation using paired t-tests and we assessed effect size using Cohen's D. We assessed the relationship between changes in primary and secondary outcomes (i.e., MS-related knowledge, health literacy, quality of life, perceived healthcare quality, and self-efficacy) using Pearson correlation.

RESULTS

We found that at baseline, communication confidence was positively associated with MS knowledge, health literacy and quality of life. We also found that men and people with MS were more likely to report being confident. Among study participants who completed the course and all three study surveys, we found that course participation improved communication confidence and that this improvement was maintained at the six-month follow-up. The improvement in communication confidence was positively correlated with changes in MS knowledge and health literacy.

CONCLUSION

Confidence in communicating about MS is associated with MS knowledge and health literacy. By improving MS knowledge and health literacy, online educational interventions such as the Understanding MS MOOC can improve communication confidence in the MS community.