Table 1.

Participants’ main characteristics.^a

		Focus groups			Online forum
		All participants n=41	People with MS n=24	Family memberb n=17	All participants n=19	People with MS n=16	Family memberb n=3
Gender, n (%)
	Female	26 (63)	17 (71)	9 (53)	16 (84)	14 (88)	2 (67)
	Male	15 (37)	7 (29)	8 (47)	3 (16)	2 (13)	1 (33)
Age, years
	Mean (SD)	41.6 (10.3)	40.5 (10.2)	43.3 (10.6)	46.2 (10.9)	44.9 (11.4)	53.3 (2.9)
	Median	42.0	42.0	41.0	46.0	42.5	55.0
	Range	24-66	27-57	31-66	27-67	27-67	50-55
Internet use for health purposes, n (%)
	Yes	37 (97)	24 (100)	14 (93)	19 (100)	16 (100)	3 (100)
	No	1 (3)	0 (0.00)	1 (7)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)
Education, n (%)
	Primary school	8 (20)	4 (17)	4 (25)	1 (5)	1 (6)	0 (0)
	Italian Middle school	4 (10)	2 (8)	2 (12)	2 (11)	2 (13)	0 (0)
	Secondary school	18 (45)	9 (38)	9 (56)	9 (47)	7 (44)	2 (67)
	University	10 (25)	9 (38)	1 (6)	7 (37)	6 (38)	1 (33)
Years with MS c
	Mean (SD)	11.0 (9.4)	9.1 (7.6)	13.9 (11.4)	12.2 (9.9)	10.6 (8.8)	20.7 (13.4)
	Median	9.5	9.0	9.5	10.0	9.5	15.0
	Range	0-33	0-32	1-33	2-36	2-31	11-36
EDSS d
	Median	2.5	2.5	4.0	3.0	3.0	5.0
	Range	0-8	0-7	0-8	1-9	1-9	3-7

^aSome discrepancies in the total are due to some missing values.

^bYears with MS, and EDSS reported in family members columns is related to the MS patient cared by a family member

^cMultiple sclerosis.

^dExpanded Disability Status Scale.