Evaluating the impact of the Understanding Multiple Sclerosis online course on participant MS knowledge, health literacy, resilience, self-efficacy, quality of life, and MS symptom severity

Background: Little is known about the impact of online health education on multiple sclerosis (MS)-related knowledge and other health outcomes in the MS community. Objectives: To estimate the impact of participating in a massive open online course (MOOC) about MS on course completer MS-related knowledge, health literacy (HL), self-efficacy, resilience, quality of life, and MS symptom severity. Methods: In this cohort study, using a single group pre-test/post-test design (n=560), we examined the effects of MOOC participation on MS-related knowledge and other outcomes using a paired t-test. We used regression and structural equation modelling to examine the association between participant characteristics, changes in other outcomes, and changes in MS-related knowledge. Results: We found significant increases in MS-related knowledge for people living with MS (PwMS) (+2.13 points, p Conclusions: There was a significant increase in MS-related knowledge, which was unrelated to the changes in the other study outcomes, both for PwMS and for those not living with MS. Outcome-specific health educational interventions may be needed to effect change in other health outcomes