Enhancing the communication of functional neurological disorder diagnosis: a multidisciplinary education session

Background and purpose: Functional neurological disorder (FND) is a common diagnosis within neurology. Effective communication of the diagnosis is known to be an important part of treatment and can result in reduction or cessation of symptoms, as well as decreased healthcare utilisation. A single group education session, facilitated by professionals commonly involved in the care of patients with FND, was developed to further enhance patients' and relatives' understanding and acceptance of diagnosis.

Methods: Patients and relatives attending a single education session were asked to complete self-report ratings of understanding of diagnosis, acceptance of diagnosis, belief in treatability and hopefulness regarding recovery, at the beginning and end of the session. Satisfaction data were also collected.

Results: Data were obtained from 193 patients and 153 relatives. Patients had experienced a median duration of symptoms of 4 years, and more than 80% of patients reported more than one functional neurological symptom. There were significant increases in terms of understanding, acceptance, belief in treatability and hopefulness for patients and relatives. Effect sizes ranged from large for improved understanding of FND to small-to-medium for increased agreement with FND diagnosis. High levels of satisfaction were also reported.

Conclusions: A multidisciplinary, single group education session is an effective and acceptable method of increasing understanding and acceptance of an FND diagnosis, even for patients with a long duration of symptoms and high symptom burden. It could help improve readiness for further treatment.