Abstract
Background: People with multiple sclerosis (MS) are at higher risk of experiencing violence including abuse, neglect and exploitation. It is not known whether MS clinicians feel prepared to identify, respond to, and support patients experiencing violence.
Objective: To explore MS clinicians’ accounts of and preparedness to identify and support patients with MS who are experiencing violence. This is part of the SAFE-MS study (Supporting clinician Assessment of Forms of violence Experienced by people with MS).
Methods: Australian MS clinicians (MS nurses, neurologists and allied health professionals) are recruited for semi-structured online interviews through online advertisement, newsletters and email lists of relevant professional organisations (ongoing). The multidisciplinary research team including consumers developed the interview guides based on literature. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed by two researchers to derive meaning and identify themes from the data without any preconceptions using inductive interactive thematic analysis in NVivo.
Results: We conducted 14 interviews with six nurses, four neurologists, four allied-health across five states/territories; two men, 11 women, one non-binary person; mean age 39.5y. Preliminary analysis produced five themes: 1) perceived risk-factors for experiencing violence, 2) assessment relies on subtle cues and self-disclosure, 3) responding to disclosures with emotional support and referrals, 4) barriers include unclear referral pathways and time-constraints, and 5) improving preparedness through tools, training and collaboration.
Conclusion: Clinicians frequently identified experiences of violence among patients with MS. While they considered this an important part of their role, they reported barriers to identifying and supporting these patients. Development of strategies to address practice change may improve clinicians’ preparedness to support patients experiencing violence.