Abstract:
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify how adult women with epilepsy in Ontario obtained information with regard to their health. We also wanted to indentify the overall health literacy of our sample using different surrogate measures.
Methodology: We used an ecological survey design with a mixture of quantitative and qualitative questions to gather the relevant data. The survey was administered online using SurveyMonkey.com.
Results: We recruited 50 participants with an average age of 38.3 (range 19 to 71) with a self-reported diagnosis of epilepsy who were residents of Ontario. The results from this study illustrate that despite a biased sample pouplation with a high degree of self efficacy and health literacy, there were still significant gaps in konwledge with regards to the side effects of medications. This was also found to be an information need by this sample through qualitative analysis. Morever, there appears to be specific sources of information that our study sample was more likely to utilize to learn about epilepsy, such as neurologist (96%), the internet (92%), and pamphlets or brochures (78%). The traditional method of using a family doctor to learn about epilepsy appears to be underutilized. Futheremore, there is a need for more information from health care practitioners, and for more support in the form of community organizations such as Epilepsy Ontario and other advocacy groups.
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