Department of Family Medicine, School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein.
S Afr Fam Pract (2004). 2023 Jan 9;65(1):e1-e7. doi: 10.4102/safp.v65i1.5503.
Epilepsy is responsible for a significant proportion of the world's disease burden, affecting around 50 million people globally. A seizure diary is a self-management tool for epilepsy focusing on self-monitoring, tracking seizures and other symptoms. This study aimed to determine the perceptions and attitudes to the seizure diary in patients with epilepsy in the Free State and Northern Cape of South Africa.
This cross-sectional survey method included adult patients with epilepsy attending Universitas Academic Hospital Specialist Epilepsy Clinic in Bloemfontein and local clinics in Kimberley (City, Beaconsfield and Betty Gatsewe), as well as the casualty department of Kimberley hospital (Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Hospital). The Kimberley patients were diary-unexposed, while the Bloemfontein patients were patients who had previous exposure to the seizure diary.
A total of 182 patients with epilepsy were recruited for the study, of whom 65 were patients who had previous exposure to the seizure diary, and 117 were unexposed. In the patients who had previous exposure to the seizure diary, 64 (98.5%) found the diary useful, but 15 (23.1%) reported having various challenges with using the seizure diary. Almost all of the patients who had previous exposure to the seizure diary, 64 (98.5%), were willing to continue to use the diary, while 112 (95.7%) of the diary-unexposed patients were also willing to use the diary.
Information from some patients using the diary confirms various challenges with its use; however, most patients support the continued usage of the diary.
癫痫在全球范围内造成了相当大的疾病负担，影响了全球约 5000 万人。癫痫日记是一种针对癫痫患者的自我管理工具，侧重于自我监测、追踪发作和其他症状。本研究旨在确定南非自由州和北开普省癫痫患者对癫痫日记的看法和态度。
本横断面调查方法包括在布隆方丹 Universitas 学术医院专科癫痫诊所就诊的成年癫痫患者，以及金伯利（市、比彻斯菲尔德和贝蒂·加特塞韦）当地诊所和金伯利医院（罗伯特·曼加利索·索布克韦医院）的急诊室的患者。金伯利的患者没有使用过癫痫日记，而布隆方丹的患者则是以前使用过癫痫日记的患者。
共有 182 名癫痫患者参与了这项研究，其中 65 名患者以前使用过癫痫日记，117 名患者未使用过。在以前使用过癫痫日记的患者中，有 64 名（98.5%）认为日记有用，但有 15 名（23.1%）报告在使用日记方面存在各种挑战。几乎所有以前使用过癫痫日记的患者（64 名，98.5%）都愿意继续使用日记，而 112 名（95.7%）未使用过日记的患者也愿意使用日记。
一些使用日记的患者的信息证实了使用日记存在各种挑战；然而，大多数患者支持继续使用日记。
