Self-management Studies

Improving Self-management Among Persons with Epilepsy
Principal investigator: Michael Pramuka, PhD
Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh Medical School, Pittsburgh, PA

Purpose: to identify the impact of psychosocial interventions on the intrapersonal attributes and quality of life of adults with epilepsy.

Publication:

Pramuka M, Hendrickson R, Zinski A, Van Cott AC. A psychosocial self-management program for epilepsy: a randomized pilot study in adults. Epilepsy & Behavior 2007; 11(4):533–45.

Managing Epilepsy Well (MEW) Network for Epilepsy Self-Management

Coordinating Center:
Emory University Prevention Research Center, Atlanta, GA
Principal Investigator: Colleen K. DiIorio, PhD, RN

Collaborating Centers:
University of Washington Health Promotion Research Center, Seattle, WA
Principal Investigator: Robert Fraser, PhD

University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI
Principal Investigator: Noreen M Clark, PhD

University of Texas at Houston Health Sciences Center, Houston, TX
Principal Investigators: Charles Begley, PhD and Ross Shegog, PhD

Purpose: to advance the science related to epilepsy self-management by facilitating and implementing research, conducting research in collaboration with network and community stakeholders, and broadly disseminating the findings of research. Research projects include but are not limited to:

• Evaluating the effectiveness of epilepsy self-management programs (Emory University): WebEase (Epilepsy Awareness, Support and Education), an Internet program.
• Project UPLIFT (Using Practice and Learning to Increase Favorable Thoughts), an 8-week Internet- or telephone-based program to reduce depression.
• Enhancing self regulation and social support in adults with refractory epilepsy (University of Michigan): skill building for self regulation by people with refractory epilepsy combined with coaching for significant individuals providing social support to those with epilepsy.
• Development and randomized controlled trial of a consumer-driven epilepsy self-management program (University of Washington): developing an epilepsy self-management program specific to the medical and psychosocial needs experienced by people with epilepsy.
• Decision-support tool (DST) for the clinical management of epilepsy (University of Texas at Houston): development and evaluation of a clinic-based DST to assist patients and their health care providers in communicating about the patient’s epilepsy self-management and to enhance self-management.
• Socioeconomic differences in epilepsy self-management and its impact on treatment adherence, healthcare use, and health outcomes (University of Texas at Houston): an examination of predictors of self-management behavior in epilepsy (attitudes, and social, behavioral, and environmental factors), and their associations with treatment adherence and health outcomes (e.g., ER visits, seizure control, quality of life, and functional status) in a 450-patient cohort from a sociodemographically diverse population of people with epilepsy.

Publications:

DiIorio C, Escoffery C, Mccarty F, Yeager KA, Henry TR, Koganti A, Reisinger EL, Wexler B. Evaluation of WebEase: an epilepsy self-management Web site. Health Educ Res 2008 [Epub Aug 4; in press]

Escoffery C, Yeager KA, McCarty F, Henry TR, Koganti A, et al. WebEase: development of a Web-based epilepsy self-management intervention. Prev Chronic Dis 2009; 6(1). Accessed [March 11, 2009].

Escoffery C, DiIorio C, Yeager, KA, McCarty F, Robinson E, Reisinger E, Henry, TR, Koganti A. Use of computers and the Internet for health information by patients with epilepsy. Epilepsy & Behavior 2008; 12:109–14.

DiIorio CK, Bamps YA, Edwards AL, Escoffery C, Thompson NJ, Begley CE, Shegog R, Clark NM, Selwa L, Stoll SC, Fraser RT, Ciechanowski P, Johnson EK, Kobau R, Price PH. The prevention research centers' managing epilepsy well network. Epilepsy & Behavior 2010; 19(3):218–24.

Begley CE, Shegog R, Iyagba B, Chen V, Dubinsky S, Newmark M, Ojukwu N, Friedman D. Socioeconomic Status and Self-Management in Epilepsy: Comparison of Diverse Clinical Populations in Houston, TX. Epilepsy & Behavior 2010;19(3):232–238.

Clark NM, Stoll S, Sweetman M, Youatt EJ, Derry R, Gorelick A. Fostering Epilepsy Self-Management: The Perspectives of Professionals. Epilepsy & Behavior 2010;19(3):255–263.

Fraser RT, Johnson EK, Miller JW, Temkin N, Barber J, Caylor L, Ciechanowski P, Chaytor N. (in press). Managing Epilepsy Well: Self-Management Needs Assessment. Epilepsy & Behavior, 2011 Jan 25. [Epub ahead of print]

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