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Background In patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), the disease’s complications and manifestations affect a person’s ability to function normally and leads to further disruptions in their education, family life, job opportunities, and daily life activities, thereby reduce their quality of life. Different factors as facilitators or inhibitors affect the quality of life in patients with MS. This study aimed to explain the facilitators of quality of life in patients with MS. Methods This research applied qualitative methodology, utilizing semi-structured interviews with individuals with MS and their family members/caregivers. Purposeful sampling was done among people who referred to Isfahan MS Association. Participants were selected with a maximum variation in terms of gender, age, education, occupation and marital status. Interviews were continued to reach data saturation. The gathered data were concurrently analyzed by the content analysis technique. MAXQDA software version 10 was used for data management. Results Saturation was reached after eighteen interviews. A total of three main categories and 8 sub-categories were extracted from the data. The identified facilitators were: personal facilitators (leisure time and coping strategies), interpersonal facilitators (exercise therapy, social support and social organizations) and needs and suggestions for improvement (family therapy, adopting urban architecture and facilities, and supportive systems). Conclusions Based on these findings, in order to improve the quality of life in patients with MS, we should pay attention to factors such as leisure time, spirituality and positive thinking, exercise, social support and social organizations. Health professionals, the government, community and families could help to improve patients’ quality of life through adapting urban architecture, holding family therapy sessions and providing supportive systems.

BackgroundDiabetes self-care helps to control the blood sugar which, in turn, results in a better state of health. However, more than 50% of diabetic patients do not have self-care capabilities.ObjectiveTo determine type 2 diabetes self-care capabilities among patients visiting a Bandar Abbas diabetes clinic in 2016.MethodsThe present descriptive-analytical research was of a cross-sectional type. The sample was comprised of 120 patients afflicted with type 2 diabetes, who had been selected through the simple randomized sampling method. The data collection instrument was a questionnaire comprised of two sections: demographic information, and a summary of patients’ diabetes self-care activities. A 7-point Likert scale was used for the rating. The final score would be interpreted as any of the three levels: good (acceptable) (75–100), moderate (50–74) and poor (below 50). The data entered SPSS version 18.0 for the required statistical analyses.ResultsThe mean age of the sample was 51.88±10.12 years. Of the 120 subjects, 86 were female (71.7%) and 34 were male (28.3%). The findings revealed that the self-care capability of 83 subjects (69.2%) was poor; capability of 28 subjects was moderate (23.3%) and the same score of good/acceptable in 9 subjects (7.5%).ConclusionThe results of the present research indicate that a large number of diabetic patients have a poor self-care capability. Due to the key role of such activities in a diabetic patient’s life, it is suggested to include educational programs to increase the level of self-care capabilities among these patients.

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