The Communication of Multiple Sclerosis Diagnosis: The Patients’ Perspective

Table 2

Descriptive statistics.

Variable	All patients	Patient’s satisfaction (%)
		Low	Medium	High
Age at onset
15–25	39	17.9	56.4	25.6
25–35	61	21.3	63.9	14.8
35–45	41	31.7	56.1	12.2
45–55	9	11.1	88.9	0.0
Gender
Male	49	26.5	61.2	12.2
Female	101	20.8	61.4	17.8
Actual disease
Clinically isolated syndrome	64	14.1	64.0	21.9
Multiple sclerosis	86	29.1	59.3	11.6
Time from the diagnosis
Less than 30 days	103	16.5	64.1	19.4
More than 30 days	47	36.2	55.3	8.5
MS centre location
North of Italy	121	18.2	65.3	16.5
Centre of Italy	7	71.4	28.6	0.0
South of Italy	22	31.8	50.0	18.2
EDSS at the time of diagnosis
0	16	18.8	62.5	18.8
1-2	117	24.8	58.1	17.1
>2	17	11.8	82.4	5.9
Type of patient care
Inpatient care	114	21.1	62.3	16.7
Outpatient care	19	26.3	52.6	21.1
Day hospital	17	29.4	64.7	5.9
Where did you receive the diagnosis?
In my hospital room	46	19.6	63.0	17.4
In a private office	91	24.2	58.2	17.6
In a public space	6	0.0	100.0	0.0
Other (by phone or discharge letter)	7	42.9	57.1	0.0
Were other people present at the time of the diagnosis?
No	31	22.6	67.7	9.7
My family members	105	21.9	59.0	19.0
Other people	14	28.6	64.3	7.1
How long did the communication of the diagnosis take?
Less than 15 minutes	67	35.8	55.2	9.0
15–30 minutes	65	15.4	66.2	18.5
30–60 minutes	15	0.0	60.0	40.0
More than 60 minutes	3	0.0	100	0.0
Did the neurologist provide you with the adequate emotional support?
No	31	64.5	35.5	0.0
A little bit	71	16.9	71.8	11.3
Yes	48	4.2	62.5	33.3
Did the neurologist tailor the communication to your profile?
No	38	50.0	44.7	5.3
A little bit	82	14.6	70.7	14.6
Yes	30	10.0	56.7	33.3