Impact of a specific consultation for patients with progressive forms of multiple sclerosis on the response to their unmet care needs: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: As their disease evolves, most patients with progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) develop particular healthcare needs that are not always addressed with usual follow-up. To adapt neurological care to these patients, we created a specific consultation for patients with progressive MS in our centre in 2019. OBJECTIVES: To explore the main unmet care needs of patients with progressive MS in our setting, and to establish the usefulness of the specific consultation to address them. METHODS: Literature review and interviews with patients and healthcare professionals were conducted to identify the main unmet needs in routine follow-up. Two questionnaires were developed, assessing the importance of the unmet needs identified and the usefulness of the consultation to meet them, for patients under follow-up in the specific consultation and their informal caregivers. RESULTS: Forty-one patients and nineteen informal caregivers participated. The most important unmet needs were the information about the disease, access to social services and coordination between specialists. A positive correlation was found between the importance of these unmet needs and the responsiveness to each of them in the specific consultation. CONCLUSIONS: The creation of a specific consultation may improve attention to the healthcare needs of patients with progressive MS.

[From in-person didactic sessions to videoconferencing during the COVID-19 pandemic: satisfaction survey among participants]. / Cambio de sesiones docentes presenciales a virtuales durante la pandemia de COVID-19 en un servicio de neurología: descripción del proceso y satisfacción de los usuarios.

INTRODUCTION AND AIM: COVID-19 pandemic has disturbed many hospital activities, including medical education. We describe the switch from in-person didactic sessions to videoconferencing in a Neurology department. We analyse the opinions and satisfaction of participants. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Narrative description of the adopted measures; Online survey among participants. RESULTS: One of the three weekly sessions was cancelled, and two switched to videoconferencing. There were more participants online than in the conference hall. 49 users answered the survey, 51% women, mean age 40.5 years (range 25-65). Satisfaction was higher for previous face-to-face meetings (8.68) than for videoconferencing (8.12) (p=0.006). There was a significant inverse correlation between age and satisfaction with virtual sessions (r=-0.37; p=0.01), that was not found for in-person attendance. Most users (75.5%) would prefer to continue with online sessions when the pandemic is over, and 87.8% support inter-hospital remote meetings, but the safety of web platforms is a concern (53.1%). CONCLUSIONS: The change from in-person to virtual sessions is an easy measure to implement in a neurology department, with a good degree of satisfaction among users. There are some unsolved problems with the use of commercial web platforms and inter-hospital connection. Most users recommend leadership and support from educational and health authorities.

TITLE: Cambio de sesiones docentes presenciales a virtuales durante la pandemia de COVID-19 en un servicio de neurología: descripción del proceso y satisfacción de los usuarios.Introducción y objetivo. La pandemia de COVID-19 ha trastornado la actividad hospitalaria, incluyendo la docente. Se describe el cambio de un sistema presencial a otro de sesiones en línea en un servicio de neurología, y se analizan la satisfacción y las opiniones de los usuarios. Material y métodos. Exposición de las medidas adoptadas para pasar a modalidad en línea y análisis de una encuesta entre los participantes. Resultados. Se pasó de tres a dos sesiones semanales, con restricción del público presencial. El público virtual superó al presencial. Contestaron la encuesta 49 participantes, un 51% mujeres, con una media de 40,5 años (rango: 25-65). La satisfacción de los asistentes fue mayor para las sesiones presenciales (8,68) que para las en línea (8,12) (p = 0,006). Existía una correlación inversa significativa entre la edad y la satisfacción con las sesiones en línea (r = ­0,37; p = 0,01) que no se daba para las sesiones presenciales. El 75,5% fue partidario de mantener las sesiones virtuales cuando se eliminaran las restricciones de aforo. Una mayoría (87,8%) apoyó sesiones interhospitalarias y recomienda que las autoridades sanitarias faciliten aplicaciones informáticas seguras (53,1%). Conclusiones. La introducción de sesiones virtuales es una medida fácil de implementar en un servicio de neurología, con un alto grado de satisfacción de los usuarios, aunque menor que con las sesiones presenciales. Existen problemas no resueltos respecto al uso de plataformas comerciales y conexión interhospitalaria. Sería recomendable que las autoridades sanitarias y educativas desarrollaran aplicaciones seguras y fomentaran la educación médica en línea.