Abstracts

Rationale: Nurses provide front-line care to people with epilepsy in many countries and in diverse settings. In some countries, particularly medium to high income countries, nurses are found in epilepsy centers and neuroscience units. A needs assessment by the Nursing Section of International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) found the greatest barrier was lack of education and training for nurses, yet few countries have epilepsy education programs for nurses. ILAE aims to improve the competence, availability and quality of care for people with epilepsy worldwide and decrease the treatment gaps by educating health care professionals (HCPs) in a staged approach. The Nursing Section began developing educational competencies in 2018 to address these needs.


Methods: A mixed methods process included evaluation of existing country-specific programs and published literature. Expert consensus from a workgroup of 15 nurses developed 6 educational domains: role of nurse, basics of epilepsy, seizure/epilepsy classification, nursing assessment, nursing care, and self-management education. Core values upon which competencies were based include: relevance to nurses regardless of setting, role, and geographic region; ability to be tailored; and based on published literature, nursing standards, existing educational programs, or expert opinion. Two stages of competencies were developed: core competencies that pertain to any nurse and additional ones for the proficient nurse who works regularly with PWE. Items underwent multiple iterations and revisions by workgroup with feedback from larger group of nurses. An online survey in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese was conducted among HCPs from December 2023 through February 2024 to evaluate level of agreement with 43 competencies.


Results: 415 respondents from 61 countries completed the online survey. Sample size varied for different survey sections. Advanced practice nurses (APN) and registered nurses (RN) accounted for 38% and 30% of respondents respectively. Most respondents worked in neurology or epilepsy inpatient or outpatient units and 64% had 11 years of experience or more. A 5-point Likert scale assessed perceived importance of each competency. Acceptance of items occurred when 60% or more of respondents rated an item as extremely important. 23 of 31 (74.2%) core competencies were accepted. Strength of importance for proficient items was less with only 2 of 12 (16.7%) of proficient competencies at 60% or >. Comparison of consensus by APNs and non-APN respondents and by ILAE region is underway. Remaining items under review for revisions or exclusion. The majority of respondents would support a curriculum with these competencies and use them in practice.


Conclusions: Core educational competencies for nurses about epilepsy were perceived as extremely important, though diversity in level of agreement with competencies for proficient nurse was found in survey. Factors such as role of nurse, location and setting may influence ratings. Competency-based educational programming could enhance nursing care for people with epilepsy, and lead to a more consistent and accepted standard in nursing education.


Funding: International League Against Epilepsy