Original Article
Psychological status of young women with epilepsy: significance for nursing care of patients with epilepsy
2018 年 10 巻 1 号 p. 52-67
詳細
2018 年 10 巻 1 号 p. 52-67
Purpose: This study aimed to identify impor tant factor s to achieve successful nur sing car e for patients with epilepsy, from the experiences of women with epilepsy who were told of the disease in childhood and subsequently acquired a positive attitude toward the disease.
Methods: A semi-structured interview was conducted in 7 young women with childhood-onset epilepsy treated at specialized epilepsy outpatient clinics. Then a transcript was prepared from the interview data and analyzed qualitatively according to Burnard's method.
Results: One patients had gener alized seizur e and 6 patients had par tial epilepsy (fr ontal lobe epilepsy in 2 and temporal lobe epilepsy in 4). The childhood experiences of the women with epilepsy were classified into six categories; (1) stage when disease was not clearly understood, (2) stage when being told of the diagnosis, (3) stage of self-isolation for having epilepsy, (4) stage of attempt to adjust to disease, (5) stage of rehabilitation of the mind, and (6) stage of appreciation to people and anticipation of the future. In the interview contents, “mother” was the most mentioned family member.
Discussion: For young women with childhood-onset epilepsy and their families, maintaining good medication compliance was an important personal experience for the child and their parents. Acceptance of independent spirit and behavior may foster a positive attitude and rehabilitation of the mind. Even patients with high seizure frequencies at onset and complicated by anxiety and depression talked passionately during the interviews about the process of acquiring a forward looking psychological state as their seizures became controlled.
Conclusion: The effects of epilepsy sever ity and seizur e type on psychological outcome r emain unknown. In providing nursing care for women with epilepsy and their families, it is necessary to understand the psychological state of the patients, provide specialist information oriented toward their future life stage, and coordinate with other health personnel to facilitate their AED treatment.
