Epilepsy knowledge profile and epilepsy self-management: A quality improvement study

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disorder marked by recurrent seizures. It affects approximately 60 million people worldwide and is the most prevalent chronic neurological condition globally. This quality improvement study was conducted to evaluate whether there was a correlation between general epilepsy knowledge and epilepsy self-management practices in adult patients with epilepsy.
METHOD: A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted between January 2019 to February 2019 in a metropolitan adult neurology clinic. Two standardized questionnaires, the Epilepsy Knowledge Profile- general (EKP-Q) and the Adult Epilepsy Self-Management Measurement Instrument (AESSMI), were emailed using a PsychData link to patients diagnosed with epilepsy. RESULTS: A total of 39 participants responded to the survey. Four only filled out the demographics part and did not complete the questionnaires. Thirty-five completed both questionnaires but only 29 had valid data on the AESSMI part of the questionnaires. A simple bivariate analysis was completed using the variable EKP-Q and AESSMI. A weak positive correlation between epilepsy knowledge and epilepsy self-management was found with a Pearson correlation coefficient (r=0.378). The level of correlation significance was established at a p-value of 0.05. DISCUSSION: The hypothesis for this study expected a strong positive correlation between epilepsy knowledge and epilepsy self-management. The results found a weak positive correlation due to limitations of time and missing data. Recommendations for future studies is for data to be collected over more extended periods with incentives given to participants for completing the surveys. It is also recommended that future patient education programs focus on both aspects of knowledge and self-management for improved patient outcomes in epilepsy.