| Title: |
The impact of COVID-19 on people with epilepsy: Global results from the coronavirus and epilepsy study |
| Authors: |
Vasey, MJ; Tai, XY; Thorpe, J; Jones, GD; Ashby, S; Hallab, A; Ding, D; Andraus, M; Dugan, P; Perucca, P; Costello, DJ; French, JA; O'Brien, TJ; Depondt, C; Andrade, DM; Sengupta, R; Datta, A; Delanty, N; Jette, N; Newton, CR; Brodie, MJ; Devinsky, O; Cross, JH; Sander, JW; Hanna, J; Besag, FMC; Sen, A; Group, COVID‐19 Epilepsy COV‐E Study |
| Publisher Information: |
Wiley |
| Publication Year: |
2025 |
| Collection: |
Oxford University Research Archive (ORA) |
| Description: |
Objective: To characterize the experience of people with epilepsy and alignedhealthcare workers (HCWs) during the first 18 months of the COVID- 19 pandemicand compare experiences in high-income countries (HICs) with non-HICs.Methods: Separate surveys for people with epilepsy and HCWs were distributedonline in April 2020. Responses were collected to September 2021. Data werecollected for COVID- 19 infections, the effect of COVID- related restrictions,access to specialist help for epilepsy (people with epilepsy), and the impact of thepandemic on work productivity (HCWs). The frequency of responses for non-HICs and HICs were compared using non-parametric Chi- square tests.Results: Two thousand one hundred and five individuals with epilepsy from 53countries and 392 HCWs from 26 countries provided data. The same proportionof people with epilepsy in non-HICs and HICs reported COVID- 19 infection(7%). Those in HICs were more likely to report that COVID- 19 measures hadaffected their health (32% vs. 23%; p < 0.001). There was no difference betweennon-HICs and HICs in the proportion who reported difficulty in obtaining helpfor epilepsy. HCWs in non-HICs were more likely to report COVID- 19 infectionthan those in HICs (18% vs 6%; p = 0.001) and that their clinical work had beenaffected by concerns about contracting COVID- 19, lack of personal protective equipment, and the impact of the pandemic on mental health (all p < 0.001).Compared to pre- pandemic practices, there was a significant shift to remoteconsultations in both non- HICs and HICs (p < 0.001).Significance: While the frequency of COVID- 19 infection was relatively lowin these data from early in the pandemic, our findings suggest broader healthconsequences and an increased psychosocial burden, particularly among HCWsin non- HICs. Planning for future pandemics should prioritize mental healthcarealongside ensuring access to essential epilepsy services and expanding andenhancing access to remote consultations.Plain Language Summary: We asked people with ... |
| Document Type: |
article in journal/newspaper |
| Language: |
English |
| Relation: |
https://doi.org/10.1002/epi4.13035 |
| DOI: |
10.1002/epi4.13035 |
| Availability: |
https://doi.org/10.1002/epi4.13035; https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:d78947db-bc8a-4851-842c-d0d1f1768340 |
| Rights: |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess ; CC Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) |
| Accession Number: |
edsbas.2B454B75 |
| Database: |
BASE |