Filling the Gap in Post Surgical Epilepsy Care: A Qualitative Needs Assessment Study of Post-Surgical Epilepsy Patients
Year: 2018
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Epilepsy, a chronic neurological disorder, affects over 50 million individuals worldwide. Thirty percent of these have seizures that are not amenable to medications, and of these, at least one-half may be candidates for surgical treatment. While epilepsy surgery maybe an option with high rates of seizure freedom, this does not necessarily guarantee a good psychosocial outcome. Despite well documented issues of post-operative adjustment difficulties, little information exists regarding post-surgical epilepsy patients and what they believe would have benefited them post-surgically, if they had received it pre-surgically. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore possible knowledge gaps around the surgical event. This qualitative needs assessment study involved interviewing post-surgical epilepsy patients. The results suggest pre-surgical information and support gaps exist and require change. Furthermore, in conjunction with our recently proposed predictive coding model of post-epilepsy surgery adaptation, our results provide the groundwork for developing a pre-operative intervention to address patient predictions and expectations.
Source: TSpace (University of Toronto)
Author: Sumayya Mehmood
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Neurology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2900022139