Ethnicity and health outcomes among people with epilepsy participating in an epilepsy self-management RCT

Abstract

People with epilepsy (PWE) may experience negative health events (NHEs) such as seizures, emergency room visits, and hospitalizations, with ethnic and racial minorities disproportionately affected. Epilepsy self-management may reduce NHEs; however, few reports examine self-management outcomes in racial minorities. Using data from a longitudinal 6-month randomized controlled trial (RCT) of 120 PWE, this analysis compared African–American and Whites at baseline, 10 weeks and 24 weeks after receiving the “Self-management for people with epilepsy (SMART) and a history of NHEs” self-management program. The primary RCT outcome was number of NHEs. At baseline, compared to Whites, African–Americans had less education (p = 0.02) and greater depressive severity (p = 0.04). Both African–American and Whites generally improved with SMART, and there were no racial differences in NHE counts or other outcomes' responses. Given known racial disparities in epilepsy care, it may be particularly important to reach out to minority PWE with self-management programs.