Comprehensive treatment of epilepsy involves many facets, including self-management behaviors. The primary purpose of a study by McAuley and colleagues was to characterize the self-management behaviors of epileptic patients. In addition, they wanted to assess if the behaviors differed depending on the level of seizure control. Adult patients with epilepsy were recruited for the cross-sectional study. Two validated scales were used to assess various self-management behaviors and collected clinical data. The sample consisted of 50 patients (23 women). The mean overall Epilepsy Self-Management Scale (ESMS) question score was 3.72+/-0.41. The mean question scores on the ESMS subscales Medication Management, Information Management, Safety Management, Seizure Management, and Lifestyle Management were 4.4, 2.7, 3.9, 4.0, and 2.6, respectively. Information Management and Safety Management subscale scores were higher in the patients continuing to have seizures. Based on the Morisky scale, patients fell into the low (n=2), medium (n=27), or high (n=21) medication-taking behavior category.

WHAT THE STUDY MAY MEAN TO YOU AS A HEALTH CARE PROVIDER: The authors concluded that self-management skills, beyond medication-taking behaviors, should be emphasized during interactions between health care providers and patients.

WHAT THE STUDY MAY MEAN TO YOU AS A PATIENT: The conclusion is prudent: if you are going to be successful at self-managing a chronic condition, such as epilepsy, you need to perform other skills including self-monitoring, appraisal of collected data, decision-making, and taking appropriate action. These should be integrated in a way that permits you to better control a condition, as well as to acquire confidence or self-efficacy that you do whatever is necessary to achieve this goal.

JW McAuley et al. An evaluation of self-management behaviors and medication adherence in patients with epilepsy. Epilepsy Behavior, August 2008.