Abstracts

Rationale: The purpose of this study is to examine parents' viewpoints of how well education, treatment, and communication are carried out during the long term pediatric epilepsy diagnostic and treatment experience. Methods: The study is being conducted in a seven-bed, dedicated pediatric epilepsy monitoring unit. Data is being collected using a self administered 5-point Likert-style scaled survey developed by EMU staff. The surveys are being given to parents of n=150 patients who had preplanned admissions to the EMU upon discharge. Data is being analyzed using SPSS, Version 15.0 and consisted of internal comparisons (independent samples t-test and oneway Analysis of Variance). The independent variables are prior EMU stay, number of days in the EMU, and whether or not the patient had a seizure during their stay. The dependent variables are education, treatment, and communication. Results: Preliminary results show that most parents were satisfied with overall quality of care, education, and communication provided by the physicians and nursing staff. There were complaints about the size of the patients rooms. Also, parents requested more play activities to ease the fear and anxiety experienced by the patient. Conclusions: Results thus far, highlight the importance of provider-patient communication skills, provider teamwork skills, and health literacy, as outlined in recent Institute of Medicine (IOM) reports, for addressing patient and family concerns during visits to the pediatric epilepsy monitoring unit.