Objectives: To understand how patients with Multiple Sclerosis experience and express hope within a rehabilitation setting and use this information to help therapists in a clinical setting.
Design: One guided interview was undertaken.
Setting: Two locations were used for interviews: (1) a rehabilitation centre in Oxfordshire. (2) A meeting location for the MS society in London.
Participants: Eleven patients with Multiple Sclerosis were selected (54.5±8.8 years). Six patients were classified as being in the secondary progressive stage and 5 were classified as relapsing remitting phase.
Method: The patients selected were part of a 12-week Multiple Sclerosis rehabilitation program. One interview took place mid way through the rehabilitation program and immediately following the end of the rehabilitation program. The semi-structured interview comprised of 5 sub-sections. Categorical content analysis was used to analyse the results.
Results: Three main themes were identified that related to the paradox of chronic illness: (1) defiance and the patient (2) accepting the diagnosis and prognosis and (3) accepting deterioration. These themes provide a basis for the different types of hopes expressed by patients.
Conclusion: It is vital to understand the paradox of chronic illness as an expression common among patients with Multiple Sclerosis. This research illustrates the importance of listening to a patient's narrative during rehabilitation.
Copyright © 2011 Chartered Society of Physiotherapy. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.