Michigan State University, International Neurologic & Psychiatric Epidemiology Program, East Lansing, MI, USA.
Epilepsy Behav. 2013 Apr;27(1):188-92. doi: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2013.01.005. Epub 2013 Mar 1.
Eighty percent of people with epilepsy (PWE) reside in low-income countries where stigma contributes substantially to social and medical morbidity. Peer support groups (PSGs) are thought to be beneficial for people with stigmatized conditions, but little data exist regarding PSG effectiveness. We facilitated monthly PSG meetings for men, women, and youth from three Zambian clinics for one year. Pre- and post-intervention assessments measured internalized stigma, psychiatric morbidity, medication adherence, socioeconomic status, and community disclosure. Of 103 participants (39 men, 30 women, and 34 youth), 80 PWE (78%) attended ≥ 6 meetings. There were no significant demographic differences between PWE who attended ≥ 6 meetings and those who attended <6 meetings. Among youth attending ≥ 6 meetings, internalized stigma decreased (p<0.02). Among adults, there was a non-significant stigma decrease. No differences were detected in medication use, medication adherence, or psychiatric morbidity. Peer support groups effectively reduce stigma for youth and may offer a low-cost approach to addressing epilepsy-associated stigma in resource-poor settings.
80%的癫痫患者(PWE)居住在低收入国家,那里的污名化对社会和医疗发病率有很大影响。同伴支持小组(PSG)被认为对受污名化影响的人群有益,但关于 PSG 效果的数据很少。我们在赞比亚的三个诊所为男性、女性和青年举办了为期一年的每月 PSG 会议。干预前后的评估测量了内化的污名、精神疾病发病率、药物依从性、社会经济地位和社区披露情况。在 103 名参与者中(39 名男性、30 名女性和 34 名青年),80 名 PWE(78%)参加了≥6 次会议。参加≥6 次会议的 PWE 和参加<6 次会议的 PWE 在人口统计学上没有显著差异。在参加≥6 次会议的青年中,内化的污名减少(p<0.02)。在成年人中,污名程度没有显著下降。在药物使用、药物依从性或精神疾病发病率方面没有差异。同伴支持小组有效地减少了青年的污名化,可能为资源匮乏环境中解决癫痫相关污名提供了一种低成本的方法。