People with MS (PwMS) are at increased risk of leaving work earlier than expected. Psychological factors that affect PwMS may make it more difficult to manage staying in work. These can include psychological flexibility and self efficacy. Psychological flexibility is the ability to effectively manage unwanted inner experiences (e.g., thoughts, memories, bodily sensations) in the present. Self-efficacy is the self-belief that an individual has in their ability to succeed.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) may help improve psychological flexibility and self-efficacy. Researchers and PwMS at Leeds have recently co-developed an online ACT-type programme called 'READY for MS'. This online programme may be helpful for PwMS who want to stay in work. READY for MS can be used on a computer or mobile device and does not need time off work traveling to see a psychologist. The aim is to understand the feasibility and effectiveness of training MS healthcare professionals to support delivery of the READY programme. Also to understand the long-term outcomes for both healthcare professionals and the PwMS they are supporting. What contexts contribute to effective delivery of the READY for MS programme will be explored. The aim is to test this READY for MS programme in various NHS settings to ensure that the programme is delivering the outcomes expected. This is a concept referred to as 'Intervention fidelity'. The key outcome that will be measured for PwMS is work instability (i.e. risk of job loss). Participants will be invited to complete online questionnaires. These will be completed at baseline, post-intervention and 6 month follow-up. The study team will invite a sub-set of participants to complete semi-structured interviews. The study team will use regular rapid qualitative analysis methods (lightning reports) to assess implementation.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NA
Purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
300
Online self-directed programme supported by HCPs
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Leeds, United Kingdom
RECRUITINGMultiple Sclerosis Work Instability Scale (MS-WIS)
A 22-item psychometric validated self-report scale to measure work instability in multiple sclerosis. Work instability refers to any mismatch between job demands and an individual's functional (in)capacity and the extent to which this increases risk of job loss. Scores range from 0-22 and work instability is scored in bands of low risk (0-10), medium risk (11-16) and high risk (17-22).
Time frame: 6 months
Psychological Flexibility -Multi-dimensional Psychological Flexibility Inventory (MPFI)
a 60-item psychometric validated self-report scale to assess the key dimensions of flexibility and inflexibility from the Hexaflex model. For each sub-scale, items are scored 1-6 and then an average taken across the items of the sub-scale so that higher scores reflect higher levels of the dimension being assessed by each set of items. For the flexibility sub-scales, a higher score would indicate greater flexibility (better outcome) and for inflexibility sub-scales, higher scores indicate greater inflexibility (worse outcome).
Time frame: 6 months
Resilience Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC 10)
A 10-item unidimensional psychometric validated self-report scale to measure resilience. Scores range 0-40 with a higher score indicating greater resilience (better outcome).
Time frame: 6 months
Self-efficacy -Unidimensional Self-efficacy scale for Multiple Sclerosis (USE-MS)
a 12-item psychometric validated self-report scale to measure self-efficacy in Multiple Sclerosis. Scores range 0-36 with a higher score indicating higher self-efficacy (better outcome).
Time frame: 6 months
This platform is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional.