Abstracts

RATIONALE: The comprehensive management of epilepsy must include psychosocial and sociological therapy in addition to medical treatment. The Epilepsy Foundation of Southeastern Pennsylvania (EFSEPA) has identified the Hispanic population of Philadelphia as underusers of its psychosocial support services. The purpose of this investigation was to identify the factors that deter this ethnic group from seeking services from the EFSEPA and to recommend strategies to reach this population. METHODS: A sample of parents of Hispanic children with epilepsy (n=20) were studied. They were inteviewed using an adaptation of the Epilepsy Rapid Assessment Procedures (ERAP) to assess attitudes towards sources of medical care and psychosocial support, and beliefs about epilepsy, and the Coping Health Inventory for Parents (CHIP) to assess the perceived effectiveness of various coping behaviors (patterns I, II, and III.) RESULTS: I) ERAP: Sources of medical care: Neurologist (100%), Emergency Department (75%), family physician (60%), psychologist or psychiatrist (45%), community clinic (15%.) Sources of psychosocial support: Family member (70%), priest or minister (40%), community organization (35%), friend (30%). Sixty percent of parents felt that people with epilepsy are treated differently, and 30% perceived individuals with epilepsy as sources of stress within families. II) CHIP: The sample's mean of each coping pattern score was higher than the mean of a national sample (I: 49 vs. 40; II: 35 vs. 28; III: 20 vs. 15, respectively.) Participants felt that it was very important talking to other parents and learning from their experience (70%), and reading about how other persons manage living with epilepsy (60%.) Barriers of Hispanic families to access EFSEPA psychosocial support services include the lack of awareness (70%), the stigma of epilepsy, and the culture-specific linguistic needs and sources of psychosocial support. CONCLUSIONS: EFSEPA could facilitate access of Hispanic families to its support services by: 1) informing them of the existence and scope of such services in a culturally friendly environment, and 2) working towards decreasing the stigma of having epilepsy