A structured, nurse-led intervention program improves quality of life in patients with epilepsy: a randomized, controlled trial

Abstract

We tested the hypothesis that structured epilepsy nursing improves quality of life (QOL). One hundred fourteen adult patients with uncontrolled epilepsy were randomly assigned to either an intervention group or a control group. The intervention group was offered an interactive, 1-day group education program followed by extended nurse follow-up and counseling. The nurse was present at as many outpatient consultations as possible and performed repeated consultations by telephone. All patients completed the QOLIE-89 before randomization and after 2 years. QOL was significantly improved from inclusion to completion of study in the intervention group (P=0.019), mainly in the subitems for Health Discouragement (P=0.01), Medication Effects (P=0.035), and Physical Role Limitations (P=0.05). To our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate a significant effect of a structured nurse-led intervention program in QOL of patients with epilepsy.