Abstracts

Rationale: Persons with epilepsy (PWE) have a greater prevalence of depression than the general population. Effective self-management has been proven to optimize health outcomes, especially in individuals who deal with multiple chronic conditions, but there is a paucity of research regarding the factors of epilepsy self-management behaviors for African American (AA) PWE suffering from depression. The purpose of this study is to examine whether knowledge about depression and mindfulness and depression coping self-efficacy are associated lifestyle self-management behaviors in AA adult PWE. Methods: Data from Project UPLIFT (Using Practice and Learning to Increase Favorable Thoughts) at Morehouse School of Medicine and Emory University were analyzed using IBM SPSS version 24. Twenty-eight self-identified AA participants completed baseline cross-sectional surveys as a part of the larger randomized controlled trial. All participants were diagnosed with epilepsy at least 3-months prior to enrollment, and experienced mild to moderate depressive symptoms. Lifestyle self-management was assessed using the 6-question lifestyle management subscale of the Epilepsy Self-Management Scale (ESMS), which assesses the frequency of engagement in certain self-management actions. Knowledge was assessed using an 18-question true-false measure developed for Project UPLIFT, which evaluated participant’s knowledge of depression and mindfulness. Depression Coping Self-Efficacy was measured using a 13-item skills assessment designed to evaluate one’s perceived ability to use skills to reduce depressive symptoms. A linear regression was performed to examine the associations between knowledge about depression and mindfulness, depression coping self-efficacy, and the dependent variable lifestyle self-management behaviors. Results: The sample included a total of 28 AA participants (20 women and 8 men) aged 22 to 64 (mean=42.36). Preliminary bivariate analyses indicated that lifestyle self-management was significantly associated with self-efficacy of coping with depression (p<.001) and not knowledge (p=.81). Therefore, lifestyle self-management was regressed upon depression coping self-efficacy with age controlled.The model was significant ( R²=.24, p=.03) with depression coping self-efficacy significantly associated with lifestyle self-management behaviors in AA PWE (T=2.294, p=.03). Participants who felt confident in their ability to manage depression were also better able to manage stress, maintain healthy diet and sleeping habits, and exercise regularly. Conclusions: By recognizing that depression coping self-efficacy is associated with improved lifestyle self-management in AA PWE, programs such as Project UPLIFT, have the potential to have a significant impact on epilepsy health outcomes. Funding: The above study was supported in part by funding from the CDC (#U48DP005042 [SIP 14-007]).