Current SUDEP Counseling Practices Among Advanced Practice Providers
Abstract number :
3.141
Submission category :
15. Practice Resources
Year :
2024
Submission ID :
342
Source :
www.aesnet.org
Presentation date :
12/9/2024 12:00:00 AM
Published date :
Authors :
Presenting Author: Shivani Bhatnagar, DNP, CPNP-PC, EBP-C – Nationwide Children's Hospital
Katie mcGinty-Kolbe, MSN, FNP – Nationwide Children's Hospital
Amy Gbemi, MSN, FNP – Nationwide Children's Hospital
Rationale: Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP) remains a significant concern in epilepsy management. This project aims to assess the current practices of SUDEP counseling among advanced practice providers (APPs) within a level 4 pediatric epilepsy center. The assessment aligns with the most recent guidelines set forth by the National Association of Epilepsy Centers (NAEC), which recommends that patients with epilepsy and their caregivers should be provided with information on the risk of SUDEP. By examining and potentially refining these counseling practices, this project seeks to contribute to the optimization of patient care.
Methods: The project utilized an electronic survey shared with a sample of APPs (nurse practitioners and physician assistants) in both inpatient (epilepsy monitoring unit) and outpatient settings. The survey was sent to all sixteen APPs in neurology practice. The survey contained items assessing demographics, current practices, and self-reported confidence/comfort in SUDEP counseling.
Results: The survey achieved a response rate of 75%, collecting feedback from 12 out of 16 APPs within the department of neurology. Most of the APPs expressed a sense of comfort and confidence in delivering SUDEP counseling to patients. Specifically, 58% (n=7) indicated that they conduct SUDEP counseling upon the initial diagnosis of epilepsy.
Conclusions:
The survey findings demonstrate that most APPs in the practice adhere to the new NAEC guidelines for SUDEP counseling. Moreover, the results suggest a potential correlation between years of experience or frequency of interactions with epilepsy patients and the comfort level in providing counseling. Despite these positive trends, more than half of the surveyed APPs express a lack of adequate education or training in SUDEP counseling. This underscores the need for further educational initiatives to enhance SUDEP counseling provision. Consequently, our next objective is to introduce SUDEP counseling education for APPs, aimed at sustaining adherence to NAEC guidelines.
Funding: None
Practice Resources