Abstracts

Rationale: Seizures are almost twice as common among Hispanics as in non-Hispanics. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported that the incidence rate for epilepsy is positively associated with various measures of social and economic disadvantage. Many Latinos fall in this category being more vulnerable to birth trauma, head trauma, stroke, and neurocysticercosis. Dr. Joseph Sirven of the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and colleagues (2005) have stated that, “More time needs to be devoted to education and counseling during clinical visits with Latinos to debunk the myriad of myths associated with the condition.” However, given the limited number of Spanish-speaking providers, the most effective pathway to Spanish-speaking patients is through their exposure to these few Spanish-speaking providers through patient/caretaker conferences. Methods: Previous attempts at holding a Spanish conference in 2007 had been poorly attended. A more aggressive outreach effort was made. Patients known to the practice were reached through fliers and the secretarial and medical staff of the upcoming event when they came for appointments. Persons who were not known to the epilepsy practice were contacted through advertisements in a Spanish newspaper with high readership. Fliers were freely distributed to neighborhood general neurologists who were Spanish-speaking. Spanish-speaking secretarial staff was instrumental in fielding RSVP phone calls and providing information. Follow up was made 2-3 weeks prior to the event. Results: On the day of the conference, 61 people were in attendance. Topics presented included: treatments for epilepsy, myths about epilepsy, cognitive issues and cognitive rehabilitation, and social services. The impact of the conference was seen in that in the following weeks our caseworker received eight contacts from patients and caretakers. The following requests were made: three for help obtaining health insurance, two for help obtaining Social Security Benefits, one for our center to provide an educational specialist to train school staff, one for a support group, and one for help returning to the workforce. Conclusions: It is our expectation that through repeated provision of free annual conferences, the education on epilepsy of the New York Latino population can continue and grow. This objective must be pursued actively since the more the patient is aware of updated scientific information about the disorder and how it affects his/her life and that of others, their continuity of care will increase. In addition, doctor-patient relationships can improve.