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Thesis Defence: An Examination of the Association of Symptom Control Self-Efficacy and Somatic Cognitive Errors with Perceptions of Walking Impairment in People with Multiple Sclerosis: A Quantitative Study
April 5 at 8:30 am - 12:30 pm
Melissa Roe, supervised by Dr. Kathy L. Rush, will defend their thesis titled “An Examination of the Association of Symptom Control Self-Efficacy and Somatic Cognitive Errors with Perceptions of Walking Impairment in People with Multiple Sclerosis: A Quantitative Study” in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Nursing.
An abstract for Melissa Roe’s thesis is included below.
Defences are open to all members of the campus community as well as the general public. Please email kathy.rush@ubc.ca to receive the Zoom link for this defence.
ABSTRACT
Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a debilitating chronic neurological disease affecting 2.8 million people worldwide. Mobility impairment is one of the most common and disruptive symptoms of MS. Research has shown a disconnect between actual level of mobility impairment and people’s perceptions of how impaired their mobility is. There is a need to understand psychological factors relating to how people with MS perceive their level of mobility impairment, as these psychological factors may be more modifiable by intervention than other disease factors.
Purpose: To examine the psychological correlates of symptom control self-efficacy and somatic cognitive errors and whether they are associated with perceived walking impairment in people with MS.
Methods: This study involved a secondary analysis of anonymous survey data from a larger primary study. 105 participants were eligible for this inclusion in the analysis. Participants responded to an online survey with demographic information, disease characteristics and psychological and physical variables. Three specific measures from the primary study were included in this study: MS symptom control self-efficacy (MS symptom-control self-efficacy scale (MSSE)); somatic cognitive errors (somatic subscale of the Cognitive Errors Questionnaire (CEQ)); and perceived walking impairment (12-item MS Walking Scale (MSWS-12). Descriptive statistics were used to summarize sample demographics. Correlational analyses were conducted to examine the study hypotheses and relationships between study variables.
Results: Somatic cognitive errors were significantly and positively correlated with perceived walking impairment (r = .336, p < .001). Symptom control self-efficacy was significantly and negatively correlated with perceived walking impairment (r = -.363, p < .001). In the multiple regression, the addition of somatic cognitive errors was found to be significantly and positively associated with perceived walking impairment (B = .272, p < .001) beyond the covariates (including symptom control self-efficacy).
Conclusion: Somatic cognitive errors account for a significant proportion of perceived walking impairment in people with MS beyond the more well understood concept of self-efficacy. This highlights important considerations for future research to understand possible causal relationships between these concepts and exploration of intervention-based therapies to support people with MS in managing their disease and improving their quality of life.
