Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, Australia.
Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, Australia.
Mult Scler Relat Disord. 2023 Jul;75:104751. doi: 10.1016/j.msard.2023.104751. Epub 2023 May 6.
Effective communication is essential for multiple sclerosis (MS) disease management. Improving communication about MS may improve healthcare and service quality.
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.
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.
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.
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.
有效的沟通对于多发性硬化症（MS）的疾病管理至关重要。改善关于 MS 的沟通可能会提高医疗保健和服务质量。
评估 MS 社区成员对 MS 沟通的信心，并评估参与理解 MS 大规模开放在线课程（MOOC）对沟通信心的影响。理解 MS MOOC 是一门免费的六周在线课程，涵盖了与 MS 相关的一系列主题，包括其潜在的病理学、症状、风险因素和管理。
我们在三个时间点评估了理解 MS MOOC 注册者（N=905）的沟通信心：在他们参加课程之前、课程完成后立即和课程完成后六个月。使用 5 点李克特量表问题来量化沟通信心。我们使用卡方和 t 检验来确定与沟通信心相关的因素。在完成所有三项研究调查的课程完成者中（N=88），我们使用配对 t 检验评估课程参与的影响，并使用 Cohen 的 D 评估效果大小。我们使用 Pearson 相关评估主要和次要结果（即 MS 相关知识、健康素养、生活质量、感知医疗质量和自我效能）变化之间的关系。
我们发现，在基线时，沟通信心与 MS 知识、健康素养和生活质量呈正相关。我们还发现，男性和 MS 患者更有可能报告有信心。在完成课程和所有三项研究调查的研究参与者中，我们发现课程参与提高了沟通信心，并且这种改善在六个月的随访中得以维持。沟通信心的改善与 MS 知识和健康素养的变化呈正相关。
对 MS 沟通的信心与 MS 知识和健康素养相关。通过提高 MS 知识和健康素养，像理解 MS MOOC 这样的在线教育干预措施可以提高 MS 社区的沟通信心。
