Epilepsy Self-Management in Older Adults: A Qualitative Descriptive Study

描述(申请人提供)：在美国，老年人新发癫痫或癫痫的发病率最高。由于癫痫是一种无法治愈的慢性疾病，老年人被要求独立管理他们的癫痫。自我管理是指慢性病患者为了管理自己的疾病、相关的治疗以及对日常生活的整体影响而实施的一套行为-行动和任务。癫痫的自我管理已被证明是复杂的，也与重要的社会和临床结果有关，如医疗资源的利用、生活质量和死亡率。虽然研究人员对中青年癫痫患者的癫痫自我管理经验进行了调查，但还没有对老年人癫痫患者的自我管理经验进行研究。了解癫痫对老年人生活的影响以及他们在管理这种疾病方面面临的挑战，对于制定有效的干预措施以改善癫痫的自我管理，从而改善这一人群的临床结果是必要的。因此，有必要对老年人的癫痫自我管理经验进行调查。这项研究的具体目的是从老年人(那些在60岁或60岁以上确诊的人)以及在适用的情况下他们的重要伴侣的角度描述癫痫自我管理经验。将使用描述性定性设计，通过内容分析来分析叙事数据。这项研究的结果最终将为未来的干预措施的发展提供信息，以加强或促进患有癫痫的老年人的癫痫自我管理行为和经历。为了实现研究目标，在结构化计划中提出了博士课程、会议、研讨会、参与跨学科研究团队、参加健康行为研讨会以及由申请人的赞助商每两周密切监测一次的建议。根据国家护理研究所的使命，拟议的培训计划旨在加强必要知识和研究技能的发展，以实现申请人在研究密集的学术环境中成为一名知名研究员的职业目标，重点是调查患有癫痫的老年人及其自我管理。 公共卫生相关性：美国许多老年人患有癫痫，必须采取措施自行管理这种疾病。这项研究将提供有助于计划旨在改善老年人癫痫自我管理经验的干预措施的信息。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): In the United States, older adults have the highest incidence of new-onset seizures, or epilepsy. Because epilepsy is a chronic disease for which there is no cure, older adults are required to independently manage their epilepsy. Self-management refers to a set of behaviors-actions and tasks-carried out by individuals with chronic diseases in order to manage their diseases, associated treatments, and overall impact on daily life. The self-management of epilepsy has been shown to be complex and also related to important societal and clinical outcomes such as healthcare resource utilization, quality of life, and mortality. While researchers have investigated the epilepsy self-management experiences of young and middle-aged adults with epilepsy, no studies examining the self-management experiences of older adults with epilepsy have been executed. Understanding the impact of epilepsy on the lives of older adults and the challenges they face in managing this disease is necessary to develop effective interventions to improve epilepsy self-management, and thus clinical outcomes, for this population. Thus, there is a need to investigate the epilepsy self-management experiences of older adults. The specific aims of this study are to describe epilepsy self-management experiences from the perspective of older adults (those diagnosed at age 60 years or older) and, when applicable, their significant others. A descriptive qualitative design will be used, with narrative data being analyzed via content analysis. Findings generated from this study will ultimately inform the development of future interventions to enhance or facilitate the epilepsy self-management behaviors and experiences of older adults with epilepsy. PhD coursework, conferences, workshops, participation in interdisciplinary research teams, participation in health behavior seminars, and close monitoring by the applicant's sponsors on a bi-weekly basis is proposed in the structured plan to achieve the study aim. Consistent with the mission of the National Institute of Nursing Research, the proposed training plan is designed to enhance the development of essential knowledge and research skills necessary for the applicant to meet the career goal of becoming an established researcher, in a research-intensive academic setting, focused on investigating older adults with epilepsy and their self- management. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Many older adults in the United States suffer from epilepsy and must take steps to manage this disease on their own. This research will provide information which will help to plan interventions aimed at improving older adults' epilepsy self-management experiences.