Our vision, goals and values

Our strategic goals to achieve our vision are, to:

1. Inform 

We ensure people affected by MS are fully informed about evidence-based ways to help self-manage multiple sclerosis.

2. Support 

We help people living with MS to feel supported through OMS Circles (our growing global volunteer community network). OMS Circles are accessible and responsive to the diverse needs of people affected by MS. 

3. Empower 

We advocate for and with people living with MS and demonstrate how self-management and lifestyle choices are a vital part of living a full life. We influence policymakers and campaign to raise awareness of the importance and benefits of MS self-management.

4. Collaborate 

We support and contribute to the growing body of evidence around lifestyle choices and self-management of MS to help influence and create change amongst healthcare professionals and policymakers. We work in partnership with individuals, communities, healthcare professionals and other charities to create genuine and sustainable benefits for people living with MS.

Overcoming MS Values

Our values shape how we work to create positive outcomes for, and with, people affected by MS

We are:

Evidence-based

The OMS Program draws upon an extensive body of evidence of the benefits of lifestyle changes on the health outcomes and quality of life for people with MS. Its evidence is broad-based, incorporates over 1,000 research studies from some of the world’s leading medical journals and is supplemented by a long-established HOLISM study. We will continue to build collaborative partnerships with leading scientists to ensure the evidence base continues to evolve.

Empowering

We believe that the realisation that each of us can take control of how we experience illness and disability is both powerful and positive. We provide the tools to enable people with MS to take care of themselves and become active managers of their own health.

Community-focussed

We focus on building a supportive, positive and empowered community of people with MS. We recognise and celebrate the experience and knowledge of people with MS, which we harness in our efforts to influence a broader understanding of the value of MS self-management. We treat people with MS as equal partners in the work that we do.

Inclusive

The symptoms and experience of MS are diverse and unpredictable. While in some people with MS, their disease course will be relatively mild, others may experience a range of symptoms, including pain and spasticity, mobility problems, difficulties with vision, cognitive impairment, bladder and bowel problems. OMS is an inclusive and diverse community, which both welcomes and gives voice to the experience of each individual.

Collaborative

We work within, and seek to influence, an active and well-developed field of research into the treatment of MS, as well as the expanding arena of advocacy for people with MS in relation to healthcare policy, access to resources and the benefits of self-management as a complement to medicinal therapies.  The impact of OMS within these fields of action and debate is increased through collaboration with other charities, healthcare professionals and researchers, and the MS community itself.

Dynamic

As a small charity operating on a global scale, we value focus, efficiency and creativity.