Table 4.
COVID-19 and multiple sclerosis awareness.
| Participants' gender | Male | Female | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Participants' age (years) | ≤55 | % or SE | >55 | % or SE | p | ≤55 | % or SE | >55 | % or SE | p |
| n of Participants (% of 274) | 57 | 20.80 | 15 | 5.47 | 174 | 63.50 | 28 | 10.22 | ||
| Level of trust toward sources of COVID and MS-related information (mean, SE) | ||||||||||
| Treating neurologist | 5.51 | 0.23 | 5.40 | 0.48 | 0.832 | 5.67 | 0.11 | 5.46 | 0.32 | 0.508 |
| Sites of scientific organizations | 4.72 | 0.25 | 4.47 | 0.52 | 0.647 | 5.07 | 0.13 | 5.00 | 0.42 | 0.877 |
| MS center telephone communicational | 3.37 | 0.27 | 2.93 | 0.57 | 0.469 | 2.93 | 0.16 | 3.82 | 0.38 | 0.038 |
| MS center site | 4.04 | 0.27 | 3.60 | 0.51 | 0.456 | 4.36 | 0.15 | 4.50 | 0.41 | 0.725 |
| Other sites | 3.93 | 0.23 | 3.07 | 0.40 | 0.080 | 4.29 | 0.14 | 4.29 | 0.42 | 0.997 |
| Health professional consultation | 4.09 | 0.27 | 4.40 | 0.48 | 0.595 | 4.13 | 0.16 | 4.61 | 0.39 | 0.273 |
| Patients' organizations | 4.16 | 0.28 | 3.80 | 0.52 | 0.553 | 3.92 | 0.16 | 4.75 | 0.40 | 0.055 |
| Other PwMS | 3.09 | 0.28 | 2.80 | 0.43 | 0.626 | 2.76 | 0.15 | 3.68 | 0.44 | 0.057 |
| Social media | 3.53 | 0.27 | 2.00 | 0.34 | 0.001 | 3.60 | 0.16 | 3.54 | 0.40 | 0.883 |
| Type of COVID and MS-related information frequently sought ( n , %) | ||||||||||
| Risk of SARS-CoV infection for PwMS free from DMTs | 35 | 12.77 | 9 | 3.28 | 0.921 | 87 | 31.75 | 16 | 5.84 | 0.483 |
| Risk of SARS-CoV infection for PwMS under DMTs | 50 | 18.25 | 12 | 4.38 | 0.442 | 162 | 59.12 | 18 | 6.57 | <0.001 |
| MS and working conditions during the pandemic | 42 | 15.33 | 11 | 4.01 | 0.978 | 135 | 49.27 | 15 | 5.47 | 0.025 |
| MS during the pandemic | 55 | 20.07 | 15 | 5.47 | 0.462 | 162 | 59.12 | 25 | 9.12 | 0.765 |
| DMTs for MS during the pandemic | 50 | 18.25 | 12 | 4.38 | 0.442 | 150 | 54.74 | 17 | 6.20 | 0.004 |
| Personal experience of PwMS regarding the pandemic | 33 | 12.04 | 5 | 1.82 | 0.090 | 95 | 34.67 | 12 | 4.38 | 0.505 |
| Caregiving for PwMS during the pandemic | 33 | 12.04 | 10 | 3.65 | 0.538 | 95 | 34.67 | 13 | 4.74 | 0.714 |
| Level of trust regarding the management of COVID-related issues for PwMS (mean, SE) | ||||||||||
| Treating neurologist | 6.25 | 0.14 | 5.93 | 0.30 | 0.32 | 6.37 | 0.07 | 6.36 | 0.18 | 0.935 |
| MS centers | 5.60 | 0.18 | 4.87 | 0.39 | 0.07 | 5.55 | 0.10 | 5.54 | 0.32 | 0.954 |
| MS-related scientific organizations | 5.37 | 0.18 | 4.80 | 0.43 | 0.17 | 5.43 | 0.10 | 5.43 | 0.32 | 0.991 |
| Patients' organizations | 4.74 | 0.21 | 3.93 | 0.38 | 0.08 | 4.82 | 0.12 | 4.82 | 0.35 | 0.999 |
| Other medical practitioners | 4.76 | 0.22 | 5.00 | 0.35 | 0.57 | 4.65 | 0.16 | 4.38 | 0.41 | 0.516 |
| Company's doctor (if applicable) | 3.79 | 0.37 | 3.43 | 0.65 | 0.67 | 3.58 | 0.26 | 2.86 | 0.67 | 0.394 |
| Employer (if applicable) | 3.33 | 0.39 | 2.67 | 0.67 | 0.49 | 3.25 | 0.20 | 2.29 | 0.75 | 0.204 |
| Media | 2.86 | 0.20 | 3.00 | 0.46 | 0.76 | 2.93 | 0.12 | 3.75 | 0.31 | 0.014 |
| Public hospitals | 5.35 | 0.18 | 5.47 | 0.45 | 0.79 | 4.99 | 0.11 | 5.64 | 0.31 | 0.038 |
| Primary health care facilities | 4.49 | 0.21 | 4.80 | 0.37 | 0.50 | 4.14 | 0.13 | 4.61 | 0.35 | 0.181 |
| Private clinical | 4.05 | 0.20 | 2.80 | 0.34 | 0.00 | 4.02 | 0.13 | 3.89 | 0.31 | 0.704 |
| Ministry of health | 4.84 | 0.24 | 5.00 | 0.43 | 0.76 | 4.79 | 0.13 | 5.25 | 0.35 | 0.189 |
| Health professional organization | 4.67 | 0.22 | 5.07 | 0.41 | 0.40 | 4.72 | 0.12 | 4.96 | 0.35 | 0.450 |
| Schools | 3.40 | 0.19 | 2.60 | 0.38 | 0.06 | 3.09 | 0.11 | 3.04 | 0.30 | 0.864 |
| Universities | 3.95 | 0.21 | 3.20 | 0.39 | 0.11 | 3.32 | 0.12 | 3.43 | 0.35 | 0.730 |
| Kindergartens | 3.00 | 0.21 | 2.47 | 0.48 | 0.27 | 2.74 | 0.11 | 2.21 | 0.25 | 0.071 |
| Public transportation | 2.53 | 0.19 | 2.00 | 0.26 | 0.18 | 2.54 | 0.11 | 2.46 | 0.31 | 0.800 |
COVID-19, coronavirus disease of 2019; SARS-CoV-2, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2; MS, Multiple Sclerosis; PwMS, People with Multiple Sclerosis; DMT, Disease-Modifying Treatment; SE, Standard Error of mean. Bold values indicate p < 0.1.