Narrative Medicine Research to Evaluate Positive Coping Factors of People Living with MS

Abstract

Purpose: Maladaptive coping strategies are frequently adopted by people with Multiple Sclerosis. The present narrative medicine project aimed to understand the coping factors allowing to achieve a positive reframing of MS through the use of narrative medicine and a standard questionnaire on coping.

Methods: A dedicated on-line platform was set up, and people with MS could enter and share their experiences. Collected narratives were analyzed according to Launer’s classification, (progressive, stuck and in partial progression). In progressive narratives, individuals usually manage to evolve from situations of high complexity and suffering to ones of positive engagement and coexistence with the pathology. Stuck narratives are characterized by a constant situation of disengagement and narratives in partial progression are those in an intermediate phase as they present both positive and negative elements. Coping strategies were assessed using the Brief-COPE questionnaire and within the narratives.

Results: The analysis of the 123 narratives showed that 58% were progressive, 14% were stuck, and 28% were in partial progression. Positive reframing, acceptance, emotional support and instrumental support were factors significantly differentiating progressive from stuck narratives.

Conclusion: The present is the first project carried out on self-reported experiences of people with MS that attempted to combine a validated tool, the Brief-COPE Questionnaire, with a qualitative analysis of narratives to understand the adopted coping strategies.

Through a narrative approach and its application in daily practice, healthcare professionals can understand patient perception in its whole complexity and be able to handle the frailty of these individuals to transform their vulnerability into strength and positive reframing.