Experience of an information aid for newly diagnosed multiple sclerosis patients: a qualitative study on the SIMS-Trial

Background The SIMS-Trial (ISRCTN81072971) proved the effectiveness, in terms of patients knowledge and care satisfaction, of an add-on information aid (personal interview with a physician using a navigable CD and take-home booklet) in 120 newly diagnosed patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) from five Italian centres. Objective To scrutinize the experience of SIMS-Trial participants in order to gain better understanding of the effectiveness of the information aid and its components. Design We performed (i) nine individual semi-structured interviews with a purposeful sample of SIMS-Trial patients who received the information aid, (ii) focus group meeting (FGM) with the physicians who conducted the personal interview, and (iii) FGM with patients caring neurologists.