What is the price of residence in rural areas for patients with epilepsy?

Abstract

ABSTRACT Introduction We aimed to investigate the effects of the urban or rural dwelling of patients with epilepsy living in Giresun on their use of health services, quality of life, and self-efficacy. Methods In this cross-sectional study, patients with epilepsy who were admitted to the neurology outpatient clinic between January 2022 and August 2022 were evaluated. All the participants were individually interviewed to complete the Epilepsy Self-Efficacy Scale (ESES) and Quality of Life in Epilepsy Inventory (QOLIE-10) questionnaire. The frequency of admission to the emergency department, neurology outpatient clinic, and general practitioner clinic where the primary reason for the visit was epilepsy in the last year was determined using the hospital database. Results This study was composed of 109 patients. The rural dwelling was found in 45% of the participants. The mean age of seizure onset was significantly lower in patients dwelling in rural areas Mean GP and ED visits didn’t differ according to dwelling. On the other hand, mean neurology outpatient clinic visits were significantly lower in patients living in rural areas. The QOLIE-10 didn’t differ according to the dwelling. However, lower ESES results were obtained in patients living in rural areas. Conclusion This study shows that there is a disparity in neurologist visits among patients with epilepsy dwelling in rural areas. Furthermore, lower ESES scores were found in these patients. Educational interventions should be addressed particularly to the patients dwelling in rural areas to strengthen self-efficacy, and fill the gaps for the shortage of health personnel and qualified health care.