The effect of social support, depression, and illness perception on treatment adherence in patients with multiple sclerosis

Abstract

Objective: This study was planned to determine the treatment adherence levels of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and the factors affecting treatment adherence. Patients and Methods: This descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted with 211 people with MS. Data for this study was obtained through face-to-face interviews with MS patients who presented at the neurology outpatient clinics of two university hospitals between April and October 2018. The Morisky, Green, and Levine Adherence Scale, Beck Depression Inventory, Multidimensional Perceived Social Support Scale, and the Illness Perception Scale were used in data collection. Results: The mean age of the sample was 40.03 +/- 10.82, and 70.1% were female. Treatment adherence was not good in half of the patients (51.7%). Patients with good adherence were found to have higher Multidimensional Perceived Social Support Scale scores (p<0.01) and lower Beck Depression Inventory scores (p<0.01). The illness perceptions of the patients regarding MS did not affect treatment adherence (p>0.05). Conclusion: Treatment adherence was insufficient in half of the MS patients. According to our findings, ensuring more cooperation with the families of patients, which constitute the strongest source of social support, increasing treatment adherence can be suggested as well as screening patients with regard to depressive symptomology during follow-up.