The Impact of Educational Guidelines on Anxiety and Depression among Epileptic Patients

Ezzat Mahmoud, Omaima; Mohamed EL Sayed Sayed Ahmed, Samah; Mustafa Mohamed, Safaa

doi:10.21608/ejhc.2022.327407

The Impact of Educational Guidelines on Anxiety and Depression among Epileptic Patients

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Assistant prof. of Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing Department, Beni-Suef University, Egypt

² Lecturer of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, Faculty of Nursing _ Damietta University

³ Lecturer of Psychiatric Nursing Department, Faculty of Nursing, Sohag University, Egypt

10.21608/ejhc.2022.327407

Abstract

Background: Epilepsy is a common neurological condition associated with recurrent and unpredictable seizures associated with significant psychological and social consequences. Epileptic patients are more vulnerable to psychiatric illnesses: rates of psychiatric illness are 9% higher among epileptic patients than in the general population and rates of depression, are 22% higher. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of educational guidelines on anxiety and depression among epileptic patients. Method: Design: A quasi-experimental research design was used to accomplish this study. Setting: The study was carried out at the Outpatient Neurology Unit at Sohag University Hospital. Egypt. Subjects: A sample of 150 epileptic patients who were attending the previously selected setting within six months. A convenience sampling technique was adopted to recruit samples. Tools: Data was collected by using three tools; Structured interview questionnaire, GAD-7 (General Anxiety Disorder-7), and Neurological Disorder Depression Inventory for Epilepsy (NDDI – E). Results: There were statistically significant improvements in anxiety and depression among epileptic patients pre & post-training instructional guidelines (P<0.001). Conclusion: The present study concluded that the educational guidelines implementation had a positive effect on improving anxiety and depression among epileptic patients. Also, findings revealed anxiety was more than depression among epileptic patients. Recommendations: More attention should be paid to incorporating anxiety and depression screening and treatment into existing epilepsy programs and to revising treatment guidelines for epileptic patients. There is a need for developing comprehensive simple Arabic printed educational materials such as (booklets, pamphlets, and posters) for epileptic patients that can improve anxiety and depression. Replication of the current study with a larger sample of patients in different settings is required to generalize the results.

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