Assessment of the Effectiveness of the Self-Review Technique on Quality of Life and Self-Efficacy in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis

 Due to the high prevalence of multiple sclerosis (MS) in the country and the mental and physical constraints resulting from it, applying psychological interventions to overcome and improve the limitations patients, who are often of a young age (with an average age of 20-40), are faced with in their lives seems essential. Although MS is a progressive autoimmune disease, its mental symptoms can affect many aspects of life. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the self-review method on life satisfaction, efficacy, and quality of life (QOL) of MS patients.

 This study evaluated the effectiveness of the "self-review" method as a cognitive intervention in improving efficacy and QOL in patients with MS through a semi-experimental design with a pretest-posttest design and control group. Through convenience sampling, 26 members of the Iranian MS Society (12 women and 14 men) were selected and were randomly divided into control and experimental groups (each group containing 13 subjects). After responding to the Multiple Sclerosis Self-Efficacy Scale‎ (MSSS) and Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life (MSQOL-54) questionnaire, the experimental group received therapy sessions based on the "self-review technique" for about 3-4 weeks. The control group did not receive cognitive therapy.

 To evaluate the difference between the obtained scores, the self-review method was considered as the independent variable, and self-efficacy and QOL (a combination of physical and mental health) were considered as dependent variables. The results from the slope of regression lines on the combination of physical health (P < 0.001; F = 19.29; df = 24) and mental health (P < 0.001; F = 13.34; df = 2) indicated that the slope of the regression lines was not homogeneous. The findings of this study indicated that using the self-review treatment method in individual counseling sessions improved self-efficacy and QOL in MS patients. This method positively changed patients’ perception of their physical health, and improved their mental health.

 The results show a meaningful change in self-efficacy and QOL in patients with MS who have undergone the therapy sessions. In this study, we concluded that the psychological intervention with a self-review method is effective in improving the level of self-efficacy in MS patients. It can be stated that the self-review method consists of a psychological intervention, which positively affects the perception of patients by decreasing the psychological energy spent for negative events through content and feelings reflection technique, as well as promoting their level of self-awareness. Thus, the intervention can promote the QOL of patients, which in turn affects their perception of the disease.