Promotion of Self-Transcendence in a Multiple Sclerosis Peer Support Groups

Self-transcendence can organize the challenges of multiple sclerosis patients to achieve and maintain a constant state of well-being and sense of integrity in the disease process. As a research based on self-transcendence didn''t done in Iran, the present study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of peer groups on promoting self-transcendence level in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. This study is a before and after quasi-experimental study that was conducted on 33 patients with confirmed MS participated in three peer support groups: 10 men in male group, 11 women in female group and 12 men and women in mixed group. Eight weekly sessions and each session was 2 hours were held. Data collection tool was Self-Transcendence Scale (STS) with 15 item and Cronbach''s coefficient was 0.68 that after modifying, it increased to 0.81. Patients completed self administered questionnaires pre- and post of sessions. Results showed that peer support groups promote the self-transcendence (p=0.001) with increases in mean self-transcendence scores in all 3 groups (men group: 0.008, women group 0.005 and mixed group: 0.003). Comparing scores before and after intervention demonstrated that self-transcendence increased equally in all groups. The results showed an improving in self-transcendence in peer support group participants at the end of the intervention. The results can be used in areas of nursing education and management. It is proposed that the self-transcendence assessment to be done in other chronic disease in order to evaluate its efficiency.