Abstracts

Rationale: show that people with epilepsy have major problems related to work (employment) when compared to people with heart disease Methods: questionnaires were applied to two groups of patients, one with epilepsy and the other with severe heart disease; employability issues were addressed. The p value considered was 5%. All ethical procedures were adopted. Results: we selected 100 questionnaires, 50 from the epilepsy group (EG) and 50 from the group with heart disease (HD). There was no difference between the groups studied regarding sex (p 0.224) and degree of schooling (p = 0.267). There was difference regarding age (p Conclusions: there was age between the groups at the time of the research, but there was no age difference at the time they retired; in both groups the retirement was at an early age. The participants in the epilepsy group had higher unemployment, were dismissed because of the disease and were considered unfit by their employers, when compared to the group with heart disease. Another observed fact was that both groups omitted the disease from the employers, but only people with epilepsy reported feeling ashamed of the disease in relation to their work partners. These results show that both epilepsy and cardiopathy are diseases that shorten the occupational life of the affected people, but people with epilepsy have major professional problems not only related to employers, but also to their work partners. The shame of the disease still represents a shade for these patients, and the depression is a frequent manifestation.   Funding: There is no funding