Violence Against Multiple Sclerosis Patients: A Systematic Review

Chronic diseases affect the lives of patients and caregivers. Caregivers of patients with chronic and progressive diseases, such as multiple sclerosis (MS), experience significant mental pressure, which can make them impatient and psychologically exhausted. Therefore, it is observed that they choose to use violence in interacting with these patients. The present research aimed to investigate the level and types of violence in dealing with MS patients by caregivers and the consequences of these behaviors. The present study was a systematic review based on the guidelines of preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) used to examine the evidence related to this field. The search was performed in April 2023 in the Google Scholar, Islamic World Science Citation Database (ISC), PubMed, and Web of Science (WOS) databases. The search terms included violence, abuse, MS, and multiple sclerosis, along with their synonyms. After searching the mentioned databases, 51, 144, 185, and 37 articles were extracted from WOS, PubMed, ISC, and Google Scholar, respectively. There were a total number of 417 articles, 117 of which were removed due to duplication, and 289 articles were excluded from the study due to unrelatedness. Consequently, 11 articles were evaluated. Most studies showed that the prevalence of experiencing violence in MS patients is high. The violence experienced included sexual (20%), physical (33.6%), financial (63%), psychological (53.1%), and economic (63%). Age, low education, financial dependence, and worsening of illness and disability lead to higher levels of violence. Victims who experience violence often suffer from psychological problems, such as anxiety and depression.