Abstracts

Rationale: Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders worldwide. The burden of epilepsy is disproportionate to its prevalence, and is one of the highest among neurological disorders worldwide. The objectives of this study were to (1) determine if health status and health care utilization patterns differ between those with epilepsy compared to those without epilepsy or to those with other chronic conditions (diabetes, migraine or asthma) and (2) to determine if patterns of health care utilization in those with or without epilepsy are associated with any socio-demographic variables. Methods: Data from the 2001-2005 Canadian Community Health Surveys (CCHS) were used. These are national cross-sectional health surveys which were administered to 400,055 Canadians aged 15 and older over the 5 year period. The interview elicited self-reported information about professionally diagnosed health conditions, including epilepsy. Each of three independent cross-sectional surveys used a multistage stratified cluster design combined with random sampling methods to select a representative sample of the Canadian population. Weighted estimates of association were produced as adjusted odds ratio with 95% confidence intervals (C.I.). Logistic regression will be used to explore the impact of demographic variables on health status and health care utilization. Results: Collectively, those with chronic conditions were significantly more likely to have a regular medical doctor, be hospitalized overnight and have consulted a health professional in the past year than the general population. Of all the groups studied, those with epilepsy had the highest rate of hospitalizations (17.9%, 95% CI: 15.8-20.0) and the highest mean number of consultations with physicians (7.4, standard deviation 12.0). Those with epilepsy were less likely (10.3%, 95% CI 8.4-12.2) than those with migraine (19.0%, 95% CI 18.4-19.6) or asthma (15.1%, 95% CI 14.5-15.7) to seek out complementary and alternative therapies to address their health care needs. Despite higher rates of health care utilization, those with epilepsy were significantly more likely to say that they had an unmet health care need (17.9%, 95% CI 15.6-20.2) than the general population (11.6%, 95% CI: 11.5-11.8). While the type of unmet health care needs in those with epilepsy was comparable to the general population for physical problems, routine check-ups, treatment of injuries and other health care issues, people with epilepsy were significantly more likely to not receive care for a mental health problem (14.5%, 95% CI 9.8-19.1) than the general population (8.9%, 95% CI 8.5-9.3). Conclusions: This study shows that while individuals with epilepsy use more health care services than the general population, they are also more likely to feel that they have additional unmet health care needs, especially in regards to mental health care. This indicates a need for future studies to address the content of care in addition to the use of care.