If you're a nurse or healthcare professional working with people living with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), you won’t want to miss the two back-to-back Nurses' Sessions taking place at ECTRIMS 2025 on Wednesday, 24 September. These sessions promise to deliver fresh insights, practical tools, and meaningful conversations around two key themes shaping the future of MS care: health literacy and patient activation, and shared decision making in the digital age.
Health Literacy & Patient Activation
🕚 Wednesday, 24 September, 11:15 – 12:15 CEST
The morning session, chaired by Colleen Harris (Canada) and Amy Perrin Ross (USA), dives into how empowering patients with the right knowledge and skills can truly transform their care journey. You'll hear from Francesco Pastore (Italy) as he unpacks the evidence linking health literacy and patient activation to better outcomes—especially important in chronic conditions like MS, where self-management and understanding treatment options play a huge role.
Miguel Angel Robles Sanchez (Spain) will take a broader view, highlighting how health literacy strategies can be integrated into comprehensive care models, while Emilio Cortegoso Lobato (Spain) offers a personal perspective on how a health literacy programme shaped his own experience living with MS. It’s a powerful, people-centred session that will leave you thinking differently about how nurses can drive activation and education at the frontlines of care.
Shared Decision Making & Digitalisation
🕝 Wednesday, 24 September, 14:30 – 15:30 CEST
Later in the day, Miguel Angel Robles Sanchez returns, this time joined by Piet Eelen (Belgium), to chair a session focused on the evolving landscape of digital tools and their role in shared decision making.
You’ll get an in-depth look at the MS-Decisions tool from Noreen Barker (UK), who will present the evidence behind its success. Then, Christen Kutz (USA) takes the discussion into the real world with practical examples of how structured decision making tools are being used to foster better conversations and choices in clinical settings.
But perhaps the most intriguing question comes from Stijn Denissen (Belgium): Can AI tip the scale in favor of the person with MS in treatment decisions? His talk will explore how artificial intelligence might shape the next decade of patient empowerment and decision-making—raising both possibilities and questions for the future.
These sessions are more than presentations—they’re a call to action. As care becomes more complex and more digital, the nurse’s role in guiding, informing, and advocating for people with MS has never been more vital. Whether you're looking for evidence-based practices, real-life applications, or future-focused ideas, both sessions offer something valuable to bring back to your own clinical setting.
So grab your seat at ECTRIMS 2025 and join the conversation.
Because when nurses lead the way in literacy, empowerment, and innovation—everyone benefits.
