While intervention may not make a difference in their actual physical disease, it can make a patient more comfortable, more satisfied, and more at peace with themselves and their circumstances. Patient satisfaction is extremely important for overall patient health and in return visits for continued health care. Studies indicate if patients are dissatisfied or unhappy with their care, they may forego visits or visit another practitioner (Wrench & Booth-Butterfield, 2003). In addition, spiritual intervention can help the sufferers' family cope with the disease and help them give adequate care to the patient at home, which is often much more comfortable for the patient and family and adds to the overall well-being of everyone involved.
Another form of intervention especially useful with MS sufferers is therapeutic communication. This type of intervention requires the nurse to fully understand the nature and progress of MS so they can advise and consul the patient (and family) as to the best course of treatment and reaction to the disease. Therapeutic intervention can include touch, such as therapeutic massage, music, reading, and other forms of physical and mental interaction with the sufferer.
Therapeutic communication is done because diseases such as MS often progress slowly, and the sufferer must understand the scope of the disease and how it progresses so they can understand their reactions to the disease as their health deteriorates. Patients who understand the scope and future of their health can make better decisions about their treatment and their lifestyle, and therapeutic intervention can help them with these decisions. Many studies show these types of interventions have a positive effect on the quality of life for the sufferer (Schneiderman, Antoni, Saab & Ironson, 2001, p. 555). This supports the person and the family, and creates a better lifestyle no matter how far the disease has progressed and will progress in the future.
In conclusion, it is clear that the acute disease of MS requires some special types of intervention, including therapeutic and spiritual. These...
A nurse must be caring, understanding and a good listener to complete successful interventions, and they must also recognize the patient's needs, wants and desires when it comes to intervention and treatment. Developing long-term relationship with chronically ill patients can make what could be a wretched time a bit more meaningful, productive and satisfying.
References
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Pozzilli, C., M. Brunetti, A.M.V. Amicosante, C. Gasperini, G. Ristori, L. Palmisano and M. Battaglia. (2002). Home-based management in multiple sclerosis: results of a randomized controlled trial. Retrieved from the JNNP Web site: http://jnnp.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/73/3/2507 Sept. 2005.
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Roy, Lynne Denise. (2003). Identification of the spiritual nursing care practices of volunteer parish nurses. Retrieved from the Redlands Hospital Web site: http://www.redlandshospital.com/Links/Pastoral%20Care%20Thesis%20for%20Website.htm7 Sept. 2005.
Schneiderman, N., Antoni, M.H., Saab, P.G., & Ironson, G. (2001). Health psychology: Psychosocial and biobehavioral aspects of chronic disease management. Annual Review of Psychology, 555.
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Wrench, J.S., & Booth-Butterfield, M. (2003). Increasing patient satisfaction and compliance: An examination of physician humor orientation, compliance-gaining strategies, and perceived credibility. Communication Quarterly, 51(4), 482+.
