Abstracts

RATIONALE: The aim of our study is the evaluation of the vocational status of adult people with epilepsy before visiting our outpatient clinic for the first time and the identification of possible support these patients will need to improve their vocational situation. METHODS: The PESOS-98 developed at the Epilepsy-Center Bethel/Bielefeld in Germany is used. This instrument is a well evaluated instrument measureing a wide range of variables about the medical, vocational, social and psycho-social situation of adult ( age > 16) people with epilepsy. All patients asked for a date in our outpatient clinic for the first time between February 1999 and September 2000 got a questionnaire by mail when contacting our secretary (response rate: approx. 70%). RESULTS: A first analysis of our data (up to now we analysed approx. 50% (N=67) our our sample) reveals that the level of vocational education in our sample is comparable to the general population. In contrast to this result, the unemployment rate in remarkably high: 23.1% are unemployed. Looking at the patients actually at work, 53.4% reported a medium amount or a lot of vocational problems. 43.3% thought that they probably would loose their job because of their epilepsy and 40.6% thought that they will have no chance to get a better position in their job. CONCLUSIONS: Of course one important aim of comprehensive epilepsy care should be the re-integration of the unemployed people with epilepsy. But according to our data and data presented by other authors (e.g. Thorbecke 1999), it is important to help people with epilepsy staying in their job and not becoming unemployed, too.