Abstracts

Rationale: Children’s perspectives provide unique insights into their individual experiences and quality of life (QOL). The present qualitative study explored how youths perceive their QOL within the social domain two years following epilepsy surgery. Methods: Semi-structured, open-ended interviews were conducted with 27 participants (7-18 years old) two years following epilepsy surgery. Thirteen participants were seizure free, while 14 participants continued to have seizures. Data were transcribed and transcripts were entered into a qualitative software program to allow the identification of salient themes/sub-themes within the social domain. Results: A few seizure-free youths reported an improvement in social function. The majority of youths - irrespective of seizure status - continued to report a negative impact of epilepsy on QOL, reporting problematic peer relations and isolation. Although the majority of seizure-free youths did not describe overall improvement in social function, greater independence was reported relative to youths with continued seizures. Conclusions: These findings suggest that self-perceived improvements in some areas of social function may require longer than two years to develop among seizure-free youths. Factors that may facilitate improved social function are explored, which may inform the development of novel clinical interventions and community programs that aim to enhance social experiences and QOL among youths affected by epilepsy.