Providing Emotional Support During the Process of Multiple Sclerosis Diagnosis (PrEliMS): A Feasibility Randomised Controlled Trial.
Roshan das Nair, Jacqueline R Mhizha-Murira, Gogem Topcu and 7 others
PMID 39318328WHAT IT FOUND
Emotional support at MS diagnosis did not reduce stress or anxiety compared to usual care.
Nurse-led sessions often focused on medication rather than emotional coping, suggesting support needs a different delivery model or workforce.
Key findings
01There were no statistically significant differences between the groups for any outcome measure at 3 or 6 months, with small effect sizes.
02Nurse specialists spent most session time on signposting and information, with only 17% focused on identifying patient needs or providing emotional support.
03Participants felt nurse specialists should focus less on medication and more on psychological aspects and emotional needs.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study was a feasibility trial with only 40 participants, so it was not powered to detect real differences in outcomes. Recruitment was lower than the target of 60, partly due to a lower diagnosis rate during the pandemic. The intervention was not delivered as planned; sessions were often delayed and focused on medical rather than emotional support. Participants could not be blinded to their treatment allocation, which may have influenced their responses. The study was conducted at a single NHS centre, so results may not apply to other services.
Declared interests
The study was supported by the University of Nottingham as sponsor. No specific commercial funding sources or individual author conflicts of interest are detailed in the provided text beyond the institutional sponsorship.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that emotional support at diagnosis is ineffective. The null result likely reflects the failure to deliver the intervention as designed, with nurse specialists prioritising medical information over emotional support, rather than the concept itself being ineffective.