Abstracts

Due to high rates of unmet mental health need in children with epilepsy (Caplan et al., 2004, 2005), this study used focus groups to examine parents[apos] perception of access to medical, educational and mental health services (MHS) for children with epilepsy and how this varied by ethnicity and social economic status (SES). We predicted that high SES parents would report fewer difficulties, use more services and have a more positive attitude towards services, including MHS than low SES parents. We hypothesized no difference by ethnicity in access and attitude towards medical and educational services. However, we expected that African American (AA) and Hispanic (H) parents would report more access difficulties and negative attitude towards MHS than Caucasian (C) parents., Parents ([italic]n[/italic] = 36) of children with epilepsy were grouped into six focus groups by ethnicity (AA, C, H) and SES (high, low). Focus group transcripts were coded for attitude and access difficulties to medical, educational and MHS using EthnoNotes, a field note management software tool. Chi square analyses were used to compare frequency of service access, attitude and barrier codes across focus groups separately by ethnicity and SES., High SES parents mentioned medical ([italic]p[/italic]=.0001), educational ([italic]p[/italic]=.002) and MHS ([italic]p[/italic]=.012) use significantly less than low SES parents. They also discussed the need for medical services ([italic]p[/italic]=.007) and negative attitude towards educational services ([italic]p[/italic]=.03) more than low SES parents. Low SES parents reported difficulties with their children[apos]s behavior ([italic]p[/italic]=.0001) and their own mood ([italic]p[/italic]=.003) more than high SES parents. Attitude and use of MHS did not vary by ethnicity. AA parents mentioned medical ([italic]p[/italic]=.019) and educational ([italic]p[/italic]=.002) service use significantly more than C parents. They also reported insufficient knowledge about epilepsy ([italic]p[/italic]=.0001) and difficulties with their own mood ([italic]p[/italic]=.001) more than C parents. H parents mentioned educational service use ([italic]p[/italic]=.002) and child academic problems ([italic]p[/italic]=.019) more than C parents. In contrast, C parents reported insufficient knowledge about services ([italic]p[/italic]=.001) more than AA parents., Although preliminary, our findings suggest that SES and ethnicity differentially affect how parents perceive access to services for children with epilepsy. Attitude and use of MHS did not vary by ethnicity, and low rather than high SES parents mentioned more use of MHS. The association of child behavior problems and parent mood difficulties with low SES and minority status highlights the need for further studies to investigate how SES and ethnicity impact access and possible barriers to MHS for children with epilepsy., (Supported by Epilepsy Foundation of America: Shire Targeted Award.)