A PROSPECTIVE STUDY ON IMPACT OF PATIENT COUNSELLING ON QUALITY OF LIFE AND MEDICATION ADHERENCE IN EPILEPTIC PATIENTS

A PROSPECTIVE STUDY ON IMPACT OF PATIENT COUNSELLING ON QUALITY OF LIFE AND MEDICATION ADHERENCE IN EPILEPTIC PATIENTS Sathesh Kumar Sukumaran Ayswarya P
ABSTRACTObjective: To study the impact of patient counseling on medication adherence and quality of life (QOL) in epileptic patients and to assess the factorsaffecting medication adherence.Methods: This study is a prospective observational study involving 100 patients with an age limit of 8-60 years and those taking Antiepilepticdrugs for at least 3 months. The study population received patient counseling during their first visit. The impact of patient counseling on QOL andmedication adherence was assessed using self-reported questionnaire QOLIE-31 and MMAS-8 between the first visit and the second visit. Statisticalanalysis (Paired t-test and Paired Chi-square test) was performed to analyze the impact of patient counseling on QOL and medication adherence inepileptic patients.Results: A total of 100 patients were included in the study. After providing patient counseling, it was observed that there was a statistically significant(p<0.05) improvement in all domains of QOLIE-31 and MMAS-8 scores. Before counseling, mean overall T-score of QOLIE-31 was 44.08±2.07whichwas changed to 49.14±1.27 after patient counseling with a mean change of 5.06 in overall T-score. In the case of medication adherence, beforecounseling 77% subjects were nonadherent to therapy, after counseling it was reduced to 41%. The common reasons for medication adherence wereforgetfulness, unawareness, therapy related, and economics related. Out of which forgetfulness along with unawareness was the major one.Conclusion: The study described that patient counseling plays a major role in improving QOL and medication adherence.Keywords: QOLIE-31, MMAS-8, Epilepsy, Antiepileptic drugs, Patient counseling.
01 01 2016 67 71 10.22159/ajpcr.2017.v10i1.13106 http://www.innovareacademics.in/journals/index.php/ajpcr/article/view/13106 http://www.innovareacademics.in/journals/index.php/ajpcr/article/viewFile/13106/9670 http://www.innovareacademics.in/journals/index.php/ajpcr/article/viewFile/13106/9670