Nursing Interventions Focusing on Self-efficacy for Patients With Multiple Sclerosis in Rehabilitation: A Systematic Review

Background: Rehabilitative nursing interventions are vital in the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS), but there is a lack of evidence on the effectiveness of such interventions. This review aims to summarize outcomes of nurse-led rehabilitation interventions for patients with MS, focusing on patients' self-efficacy and self-management and their satisfaction with the intervention. This review is the first step of our overarching goal of developing, implementing, and evaluating a research-supported nursing consultation intervention in inpatient rehabilitation.

Methods: We searched 3 databases from their dates of inception until April 2020 (and performed another search in August 2021) for studies involving adult patients diagnosed as having MS. We focused on studies with interventions aimed at self-efficacy and self-management of MS and studies on intervention satisfaction. We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses.

Results: We included 4 studies in this review with a total of 271 participants. All interventions were educational and included training programs. All studies assessed self-efficacy, and all identified an improvement in self-efficacy, particularly through group training interventions. One study focused on self-management, reporting an improvement resulting from the intervention. Two studies evaluating satisfaction with the intervention obtained good overall satisfaction scores from participants, and 1 study's program was strongly recommended by participants.

Conclusions: This review indicates that self-efficacy and self-management abilities may be effectively promoted, particularly through group training interventions. An intervention tailored and adapted to the needs of patients with MS may promote satisfaction with the intervention and might consequently improve adherence to rehabilitation interventions.