MS Patients Invited to Join Dutch Survey Study of Working Life

Researchers at Vrije University Amsterdam in the Netherlands are inviting employed people with multiple sclerosis (MS) to take part in an online survey, in the form of three questionnaires spaced over two months, on their working life.

This study will investigating potential connections between the perceived severity of MS symptoms, and the workplace environment and work outcomes, MS Focus (The Multiple Sclerosis Foundation) announced in a press release.

Researchers will also evaluate how the connections between MS and work are influenced by differences among individuals, and by resources provided by organizations.

The first questionnaire will be arrive upon enrollment, and is estimated to take about 35 minutes to complete. Follow-up surveys are thought to take approximately 20 minutes to finish, and arrive one and two months later.

An email address is required for participation, and these addresses will be used only to send links to the questionnaires. Once the study is complete, personal email addresses will be deleted from the research database, and no email addresses will be shared with third parties, the release states.

Questionnaires can be opened on any standard internet browser from laptops, tablets, or smartphones.  Participants are asked to complete the surveys within one week of receiving them.

In addition to asking questions about MS and the workplace, the survey will require participants to submit personal data, including age, gender, education, job information, health status, and MS diagnosis.

All data collected will be used for research purposes only, and will only be accessed by researchers. Data from the study will be stored on the university’s servers for 10 years.

There is no penalty for not finishing all parts of the survey, and participants are not obligated to provide a reason if they decide to stop taking part. Data collected before the discontinuation will be included in the study.

Once participants finish, they will receive a debriefing form that explains all of the hypotheses being tested, and the questions and variables used in the surveys.

Researchers will also send participants a detailed summary of the study’s findings after processing and analyzing its data.

Those interested in enrolling or needing more information are asked to contact Alexandra Cook, PhD, at [email protected].

MS Focus is not a part of this study, providing the information as a service and in support of MS research.