Table 1.
Aspects of an education program for people with multiple sclerosis[72]
Personal Concerns |
What can I expect? |
Is my life in danger? |
How did I get this disease? |
Can I give it anyone else (contagious, genetics)? |
Are there parts of me I can trust? |
Medical information |
What can I do to stay healthy? |
What treatments are available to decrease the disease? |
How do I evaluate treatments-established and claimed? |
What medical resources can I take advantage of? |
What are the rationales and side effects of symptomatic treatments? |
What new physical skills do I need? |
When do I call my health care providers for help? |
Adjustment skills |
What makes me wothwhile if I cannot do what I used to do? |
How do I ask for help without becoming dependent? |
How do I communicate my feelings and concerns to others? |
Why should I work so hard when I may get worse anyway? |
How do I cope with this disease over the next fifty years? |
Realistic life planning |
What community resources are available to me? |
What kind of work can I do? |
Should I have any more children? |
What will I do if I become bedridden? |
What will I do if I become wheelchair bound? |
What will I do if I become unable to walk very far? |
What will I do if I become unable to jog? |
What will I do if I become nothing different from what I am now? |