Association between family caregivers’ quality of life and psychological capital of the patients with multiple sclerosis

Abstract

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic disease of central nervous system, which affects economic, financial and emotional aspects in individuals, families and the society. The present study aimed to investigate the association between family caregivers’ quality of life and psychological capital of the patients with MS. Methods: This is a descriptive analytical cross-sectional study, conducted on 95 MS patients and their caregivers (total of 190 subjects) referring to MS Clinic of Alzahra hospital in Isfahan, Iran, who were selected through convenient sampling. Data collection tool was including demographic characteristics, quality of life and psychological capital. After data collection, the obtained data were analyzed by descriptive and analytical statistical tests through SPSS software. Findings: The results showed that caregivers’ mean score of quality of life was 52.7. Mean score of psychological wealth in domains of self-efficacy, hope, tolerance and optimism were 25.2, 19.5, 19.6 and 21.3, respectively. There was also a significant association between caregivers’ score of quality of life and MS patients’ score of psychological capital and its domains (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The present study showed an association between MS patients’ family caregivers’ quality of life and MS patients’ psychological capital and its four domains among these patients. Consideration of MS patients’ family caregivers’ quality of life and its association with patients’ psychological capital is of great importance to facilitate their recovery, care and administration of efficient interventions to help their survival and recovery. © 2016, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences(IUMS). All rights reserved.