Impact of a brief structured psychoeducation session on antiepileptic drug adherence and treatment outcome in persons with epilepsy: A prospective cohort study

Background: Poor adherence to antiepileptic drugs is one of the most important causes of treatment failure in persons with epilepsy (PWE). This study was aimed at assessing the impact of psychoeducation on drug adherence and treatment outcome in PWE. Methods: It was a prospective cohort study with a pre and posttest intervention design. A cohort of 100 epilepsy patients aged 18–65 years and on antiepileptic drugs for at least 6 months attending the outpatient department was enrolled in the study. Drug adherence was measured by Medication Adherence Rating Scale. A structured eight-domain epilepsy psychoeducation session with pictorial description was given to the study subjects in two parts (group and individually) lasting for a total of 30 min on the day of baseline assessment. Adherence and treatment outcome variables were assessed by an independent observer 4 months after the psychoeducation session. Chi-square test and paired t-test were used to analyze the data using SPSS version 20 with P value less than 0.05 considered as significant. Results: There was a statistically significant (P