NCT04236544

Patient Experiences of Multiple Sclerosis (PExMS)

Impact of a Multimedia Website With Patient Experiences of Multiple Sclerosis (PExMS) on Immunotherapy Decision-making: a Pilot Randomised Controlled Trial in a Mixed-methods Design

• Status: Unknown
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 55 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

Besides coping with the diagnosis, people with multiple sclerosis have to make complex decisions such as deciding about immunotherapies. They search not only for factual information, but also for reports of patient experiences (PEx). The investigators aim to evaluate in a randomised controlled pilot trial whether a website presenting PEx as an adjunct to factual information may help people with multiple sclerosis in their immunotherapy decision-making processes.

Detailed description

A variety of management options (e.g. immunotherapies, lifestyle interventions, and rehabilitation) are available for people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. Besides coping with the diagnosis, people with multiple sclerosis have to make complex decisions such as deciding about immunotherapies. In addition to factual information, reports of patient experiences (PEx) may support patients in decision-making. The added value of PEx in decision-making is not clear and controlled studies are rare. Therefore, systematic methods are necessary in order to develop and analyse PEx. As there are no evaluated PEx for multiple sclerosis in Germany, the investigators are currently creating a website presenting PEx structured according to topics and illustrated by video, audio and text files. The investigators aim to evaluate whether PEx may help people with multiple sclerosis in their immunotherapy decision-making processes. This project will follow the Medical Research Council framework for development and evaluation of complex interventions. After the development of a website with PEx, a randomised controlled pilot trial will be conducted in five neurological practices/clinics including 55 people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis and accompanied by a process evaluation. Participants will be randomly assigned either to i) an intervention group with a two weeks access to an evidence-based patient information resource and the PExMS-website as an adjunct or to ii) the control group with access to evidence information alone. A 6-members advisory panel involving representatives of people with multiple sclerosis, researchers, and neurologists, who accompany the whole project will mentor this pilot RCT. The ethical committee of the Hamburg Chamber of Physicians approved the study protocol.

Conditions

• Multiple Sclerosis
• Multiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-Remitting
• Patient Engagement
• Self Efficacy

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	PExMS and DECIMS-Wiki	The intervention consists of an information provision on immunotherapies as a combination of factual and experiential information. PExMS is a multimedia website providing patient experiences with MS in everyday life and with therapies illustrated by video, audio and text files of 48 persons with multiple sclerosis. The development of the intervention followed largely recommendation for standardised qualitative research provided by international DIPEx (Database of Individual Patients' Experience of illness) association, which use standardised qualitative research methods to provide 'balanced' information from original interview data. Data for the website was generated in a qualitative interview study with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis patients across Germany. DECIMS (Decision coaching in MS)-Wiki (www.wiki2.kkn-ms.de) is an evidence-based patient information website focusing multiple sclerosis immunotherapies.
BEHAVIORAL	DECIMS-Wiki	The active comparator is DECIMS-Wiki, which is an evidence-based online information platform. It is considered to be excellent factual information about immunotherapies for multiple sclerosis.

Timeline

• Start date: 2024-01-01
• Primary completion: 2025-12-31
• Completion: 2025-12-31
• First posted: 2020-01-22
• Last updated: 2023-02-08