Abstracts

Rationale:
The ability of patients to manage the challenges epilepsy and its comorbidities can bring may be compromised during times of high stress. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a disruption in daily routines and traditional access to health care and community supports. To meet the needs of patients requiring support with self-care, a strategic effort was initiated to increase the number of licensed clinical providers trained to deliver the HOBSCOTCH (Home Based Self-Management and Cognitive Training Changes Lives) program.
Method:
A virtual HOBSCOTCH provider training program was designed to prepare clinicians to support patients during the COVID-19 crisis via telehealth delivery of an evidence-based epilepsy self-management program. The 8-hour virtual training curriculum for HOBSCOTCH was developed at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Epilepsy Center and delivered on a secure web platform. The training included didactic education, interactive learning, small group problem solving therapy role play, and question and answer periods. Five, 8-hour HOBSCOTCH training sessions were offered between April 14th and June 15th. Notice of the novel virtual training opportunities was disseminated with the help of partner epilepsy organizations.
Results:
Fifty-four providers (7 epilepsy nurse specialists, 2 nurses, 1 physician assistant, 2 epileptologists, 18 neuropsychologists, 7 clinical social workers, 10 clinical counselors, 3 academic public health educators, 4 community health educators) registered for the virtual HOBSCOTCH trainings. Participants represented 17 states and one clinician was located in Europe. All providers completed the full training. Post training surveys (n=35) revealed, 69% of participants felt very prepared/extremely prepared to deliver the HOBSCOTCH program to patients and 31% felt moderately prepared. 80% of participants felt the length of training was about right, 17 % felt it was too long and 3% too short. 95% of participants felt they were likely/very likely to recommend the virtual training to a colleague.
Conclusion:
This pilot project to rapidly deliver virtual HOBSCOTCH provider training sessions during the COVID-19 crisis demonstrates the ability of a program to rapidly adapt to broadly increase epilepsy self-management access. The scope of provider interest in virtual training supports the need for programs like HOBSCOTCH as tools for provider use and patient support.  Post training the majority of providers felt prepared to deliver the HOBSCOTCH program to their patients and almost all felt they would recommend the virtual HOBSCOTCH training to a colleague, suggesting that the adapted virtual training is both effective and well matched to provider needs. Virtual training of clinical providers allows for expanded telehealth delivery of the HOBSCOTCH epilepsy self-management program, ultimately supporting a larger number of epilepsy patients as they aim to maintain their seizure control, safety and quality of life during the time of COVID-19 stress and beyond.  
Funding:
:None