Psychological Status in Multiple Sclerosis Patients: A Qualitative Study

Background: Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic and progressive disease and getting along with the social activities ages have a significant impact on the quality of life and psychological status of these patients. Because the psychological state of patients is an effective factor in the treatment process and life in chronic conditions, The aim of this study was to identify the psychological status of these patients from the viewpoint of patients and experts. Methods: The current qualitative study was conducted in thematic analysis approach. In this study, participated 24 MS patients with maximum diversity in gender, age, illness duration and illness severity, and 8 experts in Neurology, Psychiatry, Psychology and Nursing from Guilan province. Participants were selected by purposive sampling method and Then, the data were gathered through unstructured interviews up to data saturation. Data analysis was done using thematic analysis approach by Attride-Stirling method. Findings: From the total information, three global themes (individual problems, interactive problems, and disease-related problems) were identified. Interactive problems included (interpersonal sensitivity, aggression, sexual, social, and dependence) and disease-related problems (disease reaction). Conclusion: The results of this study showed that MS patients are involved in several psychological problems in the domains include; individual, interactive, and disease-related, Accordingly, it is necessary to develop psychological interventions based on these problems and present for improving the mental status, quality of life and their compatibility.