Disability and Activities of Daily Living in The Patients With Multiple Sclerosis

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate disability and the level of independence in ADLs in the patients with MS and investigate the affecting factors. Method: This study was applied on 104 patients with MS. Data were collected with Patient Information form, Disability Questionnaire and The Barthel Index of Activities of Daily Living (BIADLs). Data of the study was evaluated using the varyant analysis, Kruskal Wallis test, student -t test and the corelation analysis. Results: Most of the patients with MS (%67.3) experienced disability. Also it was found that %72.1 of the MS patients were dependent while maintaning their ADLs. The working status, education level and having child were the common factors which affected both disability and the level of independence in maintaning ADLs. Moreover, a negative corelation was detected (r =-0.62) between the score of Brief Disability Questionnaire (BDQ) and BIADLs in MS patients (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Disability is an important problem for MS patients. While the disability in the MS patients is increasing, dependence ADLs level increases, too. Some of personal characteristics of MS patients also affect disability and independence level in ADLs. Detecting the level of disability and the level of independence in maintaining ADLs in MS patients is very important for decreasing the disability and describing the limitation which occur in the patients due to this disability and for implementing effecive care plans in order to maintain ADLs.