Exploring the use of educational material about shoulder dysfunction: a Quality Improvement project in people with ALS

Shoulder pain is a common secondary complication of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) that can contribute to functional decline and decreased participation in daily activities. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of an educational brochure aimed at improving knowledge regarding shoulder pain and dysfunction in people with ALS. Participants completed a pre-intervention survey with questions regarding their knowledge of how ALS may affect their shoulders. After completing the pre-survey, they were mailed a brochure that described shoulder health and range of motion and stretching exercises. Four weeks after receiving the brochure, participants were then asked to determine the effectiveness of the educational materials in terms of impact on shoulder-related knowledge and self-efficacy with regards to prevention of shoulder pain and dysfunction. More than 50% of participants reported pain, decreased range of motion, or weakness in at least one shoulder since being diagnosed with ALS. All participants were interested in receiving educational materials and all agreed that the brochure was easy to interpret and understand, with most (87%) reporting it was helpful. Educational brochures are one strategy to improve awareness about shoulder health and to educate ALS patients about exercises that may help reduce shoulder pain and dysfunction. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives License 4.0 (CCBY-NC-ND), where it is permissible to download and share the work provided it is properly cited. The work cannot be changed in any way or used commercially without permission from the journal. Funding: Sabrina Paganoni has been funded by the NIH (Career Development Award 2K12HD001097-16). The authors report no conflicts of interest. *Corresponding author: Sabrina Paganoni, MD, PhD, Harvard Medical School, Neurological Clinical Research Institute (NCRI), Massachusetts General Hospital, 165 Cambridge St, Suite 600, Boston, MA 02114, Ph: (617) 643-3452; Fax: (617) 724-7290. Email: spaganoni@partners.org Copyright © 2018 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

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