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| LETTER TO EDITOR |
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| Year : 2022 | Volume
: 9
| Issue : 1 | Page : 36-37 |
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Women with epilepsy in reproductive age years and requisite psychosocial management strategies
Pallerla Srikanth1, Mysore Narasimha Vranda2, Priya Treesa Thomas3, Kenchaiah Raghvendra4
1 PhD Scholar, Department of Neurology, NIMHANS, Bengaluru, India
2 Additional Professor, Department of Neurology, NIMHANS, Bengaluru, India
3 Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatric Social Work, Department of Neurology, NIMHANS, Bengaluru, India
4 Assistant Professor, Department of Neurology, NIMHANS, Bengaluru, India
| Date of Submission | 21-Feb-2022 |
| Date of Acceptance | 04-Mar-2022 |
| Date of Web Publication | 01-Apr-2022 |
Correspondence Address:
Mysore Narasimha Vranda
Department of Psychiatric Social Work, National Institute of Mental Health And Neuro Sciences, Institute of National Importance, Bengaluru - 560 029, Karnataka
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None
DOI: 10.4103/JNBS.JNBS_7_22
How to cite this article:
Srikanth P, Vranda MN, Thomas PT, Raghvendra K. Women with epilepsy in reproductive age years and requisite psychosocial management strategies. J Neurobehav Sci 2022;9:36-7 |
How to cite this URL:
Srikanth P, Vranda MN, Thomas PT, Raghvendra K. Women with epilepsy in reproductive age years and requisite psychosocial management strategies. J Neurobehav Sci [serial online] 2022 [cited 2022 Aug 18];9:36-7. Available from: http://www.jnbsjournal.com/text.asp?2022/9/1/36/342502 |
Dear Editor,
Epilepsy is the second-most prevalent neurological illness, and it places a significant strain on those who suffer from it, their families, and health-care systems.[1] According to the World Health Organization, epilepsy affects over 50 million people worldwide, with 80%of those living in low-and middle-income nations suffering from it.[2] Epilepsy was found to be present in 0.4% of people aged 30–39 years in India.[3] The neurologists preferred the mode of intervention for the treatment of epilepsy is typically pharmaceutical. Women with epilepsy (WwE) face additional and unique obstacles compared to men, including sexual development, sexuality, menstruation, fertility, pregnancy, breastfeeding, mother‒baby interactions, and menopause.[4] As a result, compared to other chronic illnesses, WwE in reproductive age years would require additional care and psychosocial (PS) management. In this context, there is a scarcity of health-care experts such as medical social workers, clinical psychologists, and counselors who can assess PS concerns and provide tailored PS management is critical. Health-care professionals play an important role in providing PS interventions to patients and their families to improve their quality of life by changing their knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding the illness and its treatment.[5]
Given the particular nature of PS issues among WwE in reproductive years, there is a need to look beyond symptomatology and illness while providing care. Poor knowledge about the illness, concerns about marriage, sexuality, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, breastfeeding, childbearing practices, taking and continuing antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), side effects of AEDs, AEDs management, polytherapy, stigma, myths and misconceptions about the illness, delivery-related concerns, offspring health condition, and family pressure to stop AEDs, are the most commonly encountered PS issues among WwE in reproductive years. The tailored PS interventions would address the aforementioned PS issues to improve WwE's quality of life. Individuals (WwE), families (caregivers, spouses, family of origin, and family of procreation), and communities should all be targeted for PS interventions. Female counselors (if needed), maintaining privacy and secrecy, interview room circumstances, and WwE language are just a few of the variables to consider for a successful conclusion.
Counselors should be available at all primary health-care clinics, district hospitals, and private hospitals for discussions about the PS concerns that affect women during their reproductive years. Sensitizing health-care professionals involved in the management of epilepsy (neurologists, gynecologists, medical social workers, and counselors) about the various PS issues and the impact of providing PS interventions timely on quality of life among WwE in reproductive years will also need to be considered. The importance of PS variables on WwE illness, treatment, recovery, and outcomes is particularly important for neurologists. A social worker who focuses on the biopsychosocial factors which are contributing toward the maintaining of the illness behavior and consequences of it. To identify interrelated factors associated with the issues of WwE and make a tailor-made intervention to address the concerns related to it for the management of illness and their well-being. Early identification of the PS issues and addressing their issues by providing timely tailor-made interventions would benefit WwE and enhance their quality of life. The list of required PS interventions has mentioned in [Table 1]. | Table 1: Psychosocial interventions for women with epilepsy in reproductive age years
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Patient informed consent
There is no need for patient informed consent.
Ethics committee approval
There is no need for ethics committee approval.
Financial support and sponsorship
No funding was received.
Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts of interest to declare.
Author contribution subject and rate
- Srikanth Pallerla (25%): Contributed to writing a manuscript draft, literature search
- Vranda Mysore Narasimha (25%): Contributed to writing a manuscript draft, review of the manuscript
- Priya Treesa Thomas (25%): Contributed to writing a manuscript draft, review of the manuscript
- Raghvendra Kenchaiah (25%): Contributed to the review and content of the manuscript.
| References | |  |
| 1. | Amudhan S, Gururaj G, Satishchandra P. Epilepsy in India I: Epidemiology and public health. Ann Indian Acad Neurol 2015;18:263-77. [doi: 10.4103/0972-2327.160093].  |
| 2. | |
| 3. | Amudhan S, Gururaj G, Satishchandra P. Epilepsy in India II: Impact, burden, and need for a multisectoral public health response. Ann Indian Acad Neurol 2015;18:369-81. [doi: 10.4103/0972-2327.165483]. |
| 4. | Sachin S, Padma MV, Bhatia R, Prasad K, Gureshkumar C, Tripathi M. Psychosocial impact of epilepsy in women of childbearing age in India. Epileptic Disord 2008;10:282-9. [doi: 10.1684/epd. 2008.0213]. |
| 5. | Srikanth P, Vranda MN, Thomas PT, Raghvendra K. Quality of life and stigma among women with epilepsy during their reproductive years. J Epilepsy Res 2021;11:63-71. [doi: 10.14581/jer. 21009]. |
[Table 1]
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