Determination of illness perception in Multiple Sclerosis patients

This research was carried out with 70 patients to determinate the illness perception of patients? diagnosed Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Descriptive Features Form and Illness Perception Questionnaire were used to collect data. For analysis of the data, frequency distribution, Mann Whitney U test and Kruskal Wallis H test were used. As a result, the highest mean score of illness perception sub-dimensions was personal control and the lowest was time (cyclic). Between the possible causes of illness, psychological attributions were the highest mean score. The identification of disease, one of the sub-dimensions, in women; duration (cyclic) in the age group of 41 and above; understanding the illness in the illiterate/elementary education graduates were found statistically significant. When patients? views on the disease and sub-dimensions were examined, time (acute/chronic), the results, personal control and emotional representations mean scores were found to be higher than the others. For the patients who had another disease out of MS self-control and emotional representations mean score, for the patients who needed help identity and the results mean score, depending on the period of obtaining information time (acute/chronic) were statistically significant. For the patients who received adequate information about the both disease and care, understanding disease was found statistically significant. Variables such as patients? working status, duration of disease, hospitalization, drug usage, attack status in the last six months were found no statistically significance. Key Words:Illness Perception, Multiple Sclerosis,Nursing, Adherence, Quality of Life