IFESS UK 2015 Presentation
Quality of Life following the use of Functional Electrical Stimulation for Multiple Sclerosis Street T1, Taylor P1, Swain I.1, 2 Salisbury Foundation Trust NHS1, Faculty of Science and Technology Computing, Bournemouth University, Poole, UK2
[email protected] Introduction Recent research on 4516 people with multiple sclerosis using the EQ5D has found a large gap between quality of life for people with multiple sclerosis (mean health state score 59.7 ± 22.4 compared to general population score 86).1 The current study examined changes in quality of life using the EQ5D5L following the use of FES for the lower limb. Method Twenty-seven (mean age 53, range 44-70) people with multiple sclerosis formed a referred sample for treatment between 2013 and 2014. The EQ5D-5L (Euroqol) questionnaire requires participants to rate their health on a 1-5 point scale of increasing severity in five areas of health. They are further required to indicate a score out of 100 on their overall health today using a visual analogue scale (VAS). The EQ5D-5L was administered at baseline and after 18 weeks of using FES. A difference in quality of life was examined using index values calculated from the Crosswalk Index Value Calculator (Euroqol). The raw data was further explored to examine which areas of quality of life were associated with changes. Results A significant improvement in quality of life was found between baseline (51 ± 22.3) and after using FES for 18 weeks (58.4 ± 22) (p=0.02). A significant improvement of 15 points on the VAS was also found (p
