A Scoping Review of How Social Determinants of Health Affect Multiple Sclerosis Management

Public Deposited
Analytics
Title
  • A Scoping Review of How Social Determinants of Health Affect Multiple Sclerosis Management
Last modified
  • 05/06/2026
Creator
Abstract
  • Background: Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, demyelinating disease that affects nearly one million people in the United States. With a range of varying symptoms affecting the eyes, muscles, nerves, and other bodily systems, this disease is often life-altering. Treatment options have expanded considerably, but the average per-person economic burden sits at $65,612 annually and access to care remains inequitable across socioeconomic groups. Social Determinants of Health (SDOH), including economic stability, education access and quality, health care access and quality, neighborhood and built environment, and social and community context play a significant role in the quality and accessibility of care for persons with MS (pwMS). Given this, the specific impact of SDOH on access to care in pwMS has not been fully reviewed and gaps in research still exist. Objective: This scoping review aims to examine how SDOH affect access to care for pwMS in the United States with the goal of identifying gaps in current literature and offering recommendations for future policies and research. Methods: A systematic search of the PubMed database was conducted between November 2025 and January 2026 using Medical Subject Heading terms related to MS, access to care, income, education, pain management, and quality of life. This search was restricted to United States studies within the past 10 years. Of 198 total articles, 25 underwent full-text review and 11 met inclusion criteria. These 11 articles were coded into three categories: social, physical, and systemic barriers to care. Results: SDOH emerged as the predominant contributor to disparities in access to MS care. Social barriers to care included six articles. They discussed clinical trial underrepresentation, socioeconomic status as a compounding factor, and the role of social integration in MS outlook. Physical barriers included three articles, discussing both environmental factors and comorbidities. Finally, systemic barriers included two articles, which discussed the relationship between insurance status and access to disease-modifying therapy. These results emphasize patient education, telehealth expansion, and insurance policy reform. Future studies should be longitudinal and conducted in diverse US regions to further establish causation between SDOH and access to care in pwMS.
Contributor
Date Created
Keyword
Language
Publisher
Type
Rights statement
Subject

MLA citation style (9th ed.)

Gately, Joseph. A Scoping Review of How Social Determinants of Health Affect Multiple Sclerosis Management. Hughes, Meredith - Essay Advisor, Fabio, Anthony - Essay Reader.University of Pittsburgh. 2026. d-scholarship.pitt.edu/concern/generic_works/b57f5baa-3ab9-44f1-8d68-d75632e3a767.

APA citation style (7th ed.)

G. Joseph. (2026). A Scoping Review of How Social Determinants of Health Affect Multiple Sclerosis Management. https://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/concern/generic_works/b57f5baa-3ab9-44f1-8d68-d75632e3a767

Chicago citation style (CMOS 17, author-date)

Gately, Joseph. A Scoping Review of How Social Determinants of Health Affect Multiple Sclerosis Management. University of Pittsburgh. 2026. https://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/concern/generic_works/b57f5baa-3ab9-44f1-8d68-d75632e3a767.

Note: These citations are programmatically generated and may be incomplete.

In Collection:
Thumbnail Title Date Uploaded Visibility Actions
Gately__J._MPH_Essay_2026.pdf Gately__J._MPH_Essay_2026.pdf 2026-05-06 Public Download