Patient information and coping styles in multiple sclerosis

Background Patients with multiple sclerose (MS) live with their disease for many years. The cause of the disease is unknown and there are no curative therapies. Patients' adaption to chronic disease is dependent on the effectiveness of coping behaviour. Objectives To explore the correlation between the quality of perceived disease information and to estimate the correspondance between the quality of perceived disease information and later coping styles applied by MS-patients in stress situations related to their disease. Methods Of a total of 108 patients recently diagnosed with MS, 93 agreed to participate in the study and 86 of these completed two different questionnaires, one assessing quality of the perceived information and the other asessing coping styles (the COPE scale). Results 43.2% of the patients were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the information by the time of diagnosis. MS-related coping styles were influenced by general coping styles and the most frequently employed strategies were 'positive reinterpretation and growth', 'planning' and 'restraint coping' while 'denial' was the most infrequently employed strategy. Patients who were satisfied with the information employed avoidance coping to a lesser extent and more actively both plan and seek information about the situation. Conclusion Optimizing the information process in the early phase of the disease may induce coping styles that produce a better adaption to living with MS.