Pilot Study Evaluating Functional and Wellness Outcomes of the Shepherd CAN DO MS Program

Can Do MS Programs offer evidence-based, comprehensive, and personalized educational and experiential opportunities aimed at empowering and enabling a person with MS to live a healthy life beyond their MS. The signature program of Can Do MS is the four-day CAN DO® Program (CAN DO). Preliminary outcomes suggest that participation in CAN DO leads to significant improvements in self-efficacy and various aspects of health status.1 The majority of 129 participants who participated in one of the three CAN DO Programs showed improvements in self-efficacy at one month (n=98), 3 months (n=84), and 6 months after the program (n=82; all p\<0.001). Participants also showed significant improvements to varying degrees in subscales of the SF-36, including Physical Functioning (p=0.01), Role Physical, General Health, Vitality and Mental Health. These improvements were maintained to varying extents at one and 3 months post-program. These important outcomes have not yet been compared to those in people with MS who receive traditional care but do not participate in this comprehensive educational opportunity. Furthermore, the impact on physical activity, participation, and quality of life has not been measured or compared to those who do not participate in CAN DO. Finally, recognizing the tremendous burden that can be placed on the support partner living and supporting a person with MS, education for support partners is another critical element of CAN DO. However, the impact on the support partner of empowering an individual with MS to adopt healthy behaviors also has not been assessed. This project will allow Shepherd Center and Can Do MS to gather long-term health, wellness, and quality of life outcomes in people with MS and their support partners, as well as pilot data evaluating this study design for future larger scale clinical trials. Demonstrating the efficacy of this program will provide evidence that will impact the lives of people with MS and their families, specifically, their ability to live healthy lives independent of their MS.