Wellness and multiple sclerosis: The National MS Society establishes a Wellness Research Working Group and research priorities

Robert W Motl; Ellen M Mowry; Dawn M Ehde; Nicholas G LaRocca; Kathy E Smith; Kathleen Costello; Lynne Shinto; Alexander V Ng; Amy B Sullivan; Barbara Giesser; Kevin K McCully; Bo Fernhall; Malachy Bishop; Matthew Plow; Patrizia Casaccia; Nancy D Chiaravalloti

doi:10.1177/1352458516687404

Wellness and multiple sclerosis: The National MS Society establishes a Wellness Research Working Group and research priorities

Mult Scler. 2018 Mar;24(3):262-267. doi: 10.1177/1352458516687404. Epub 2017 Jan 12.

Authors

Robert W Motl¹, Ellen M Mowry², Dawn M Ehde³, Nicholas G LaRocca⁴, Kathy E Smith⁴, Kathleen Costello⁴, Lynne Shinto⁵, Alexander V Ng⁶, Amy B Sullivan⁷, Barbara Giesser⁸, Kevin K McCully⁹, Bo Fernhall¹⁰, Malachy Bishop¹¹, Matthew Plow¹², Patrizia Casaccia¹³, Nancy D Chiaravalloti¹⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physical Therapy, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
² Department of Epidemiology and Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
³ Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
⁴ National Multiple Sclerosis Society, New York, NY, USA.
⁵ Department of Neurology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA.
⁶ Exercise Science Program, Physical Therapy Department, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI, USA.
⁷ Mellen Center for MS, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH, USA.
⁸ Department of Neurology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
⁹ Department of Kinesiology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.
¹⁰ College of Applied Health Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
¹¹ Early Childhood, Special Education, and Rehabilitation Counseling, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA.
¹² Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA.
¹³ Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Advanced Research Science Center, City University at New York, New York, NY, USA.
¹⁴ Kessler Foundation, East Hanover, NJ, USA.

Abstract

Background: People with multiple sclerosis (MS) have identified "wellness" and associated behaviors as a high priority based on "social media listening" undertaken by the National MS Society (i.e. the Society).

Objective: The Society recently convened a group that consisted of researchers with experience in MS and wellness-related research, Society staff members, and an individual with MS for developing recommendations regarding a wellness research agenda.

Method: The members of the group engaged in focal reviews and discussions involving the state of science within three approaches for promoting wellness in MS, namely diet, exercise, and emotional wellness.

Results: That process informed a group-mediated activity for developing and prioritizing research goals for wellness in MS. This served as a background for articulating the mission and objectives of the Society's Wellness Research Working Group.

Conclusion: The primary mission of the Wellness Research Working Group is the provision of scientific evidence supporting the application of lifestyle, behavioral, and psychosocial approaches for promoting optimal health of mind, body, and spirit (i.e. wellness) in people with MS as well as managing the disease and its consequences.

Keywords: Wellness; depression; diet; exercise.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Biomedical Research*
Diet, Healthy*
Exercise*
Humans
Multiple Sclerosis* / diet therapy
Multiple Sclerosis* / psychology
Multiple Sclerosis* / rehabilitation
Societies, Medical*

Grants and funding

R37 NS042925/NS/NINDS NIH HHS/United States