Abstracts

Our Comprehensive Epilepsy Center hosts an annual free educational patient conference for people with epilepsy and their families. The purpose of the educational program is to provide the latest information on epilepsy to people affected by this condition. In order to develop better understanding of the epilepsy patients who attend our conference, and their future educational interests, a survey was performed after the conference this year. A written survey was given to the entire audience in the beginning of the conference and collected upon conference completion. Information was gathered on gender, age, understanding of the presentations, topics of interest, and how the attendees heard about our conference. The conference was open to everyone, but attendees were required to register. Seven speakers covered various epilepsy-related topics, which included memory, bone health, new research, stress, burn safety, and health insurance. Speakers were physicians, nurses, a social worker, a neuropsychologist, a government official, and a patient. 192 people attended the conference. 93 surveys were returned. 68% of respondants were female. 47% were above the age of 50. 72% responded that they understood all or most of the presentations. Topics of interest suggested by the audience for future conferences were epilepsy issues related to: children, women, diet, alternative medicine, and the workplace. Our findings suggest women are more likely to seek out new health information than men. This may represent women[rsquo]s traditional familial role. Future topics suggested also seem to reflect women[rsquo]s epilepsy-related interests at home and at work.