Intervention to support individuals around the point of Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis (PrEliMS)
The period surrounding MS diagnosis can be highly stressful for both the patients and their families. There are some emotional support programmes that address this, delivered by charities and the NHS, but these have not been systematically evaluated, and delivery is sporadic. Therefore, we aim to develop an intervention that provides effective emotional support and advice to people with MS around the diagnosis period. The study is divided into three phases.
In Phase 1, two parallel systematic reviews will be conducted: (1) a meta-review to describe, evaluate and synthesise systematic reviews on psychosocial adjustment in people with MS, (2) a meta-synthesis to derive a new conceptual understanding of the views and experiences of people around the point of MS diagnosis.
In Phase 2, we will develop a point of diagnosis intervention based on findings from Phase 1 and through an iterative process involving patients, families/carers, MS Society volunteers and health professionals.
In Phase 3, we will conduct a feasibility randomised controlled trial to evaluate the feasibility of conducting a future study to investigate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the intervention for people around the point of MS diagnosis.