People living with Multiple Sclerosis help researchers with a study on Upper Extremity Function
In a hands-on, knowledge translation (KT) research experience, persons living with MS help MS researchers with an important study on upper extremity function. Both the KT and MS research study were published in ‘MS International’ – a journal that specifically addresses MS.
The Office of the Saskatchewan MS Clinical Research Chair team, led by Dr. Michael C. Levin, recently published two research articles in the Multiple Sclerosis International journal entitled "A tripartite knowledge translation program: innovative patient-centered approach to clinical research participation for individuals with multiple sclerosis" and "A descriptive correlational study to evaluate three measures of assessing upper extremity function in individuals with multiple sclerosis". The first article is based on the unique knowledge translation program we implemented at the MS Connect conference and the second describes the experiential research study related to upper extremity function in MS which was launched at the conference.
On-site experiential research program preceded by didactic sessions proved to be rewarding for people living with MS. The results demonstrated that the majority of people living with MS attending the conference agreed to participate in our on-site experiential research program, and felt the experience was valuable and should be continued.
Our experiential research study evaluated three measures to explore a more comprehensive assessment of upper extremity function. We found that the performance on upper extremity function scale significantly correlated with the quality of life measure and therefore, it could complement routinely captured measures of assessing upper extremity function in individuals with MS.