Quality of life issues for people with epilepsy living in the Western region of Ireland : an exploratory study

Abstract

This study aims to ascertain the implications of having epilepsy and explores quality of life (QOL) issues for people with epilepsy living in the Western region of Ireland. Epilepsy is the most common but treatable neurological condition and it is estimated that up to 40,000 people in Ireland have some form of epilepsy. This research was achieved by triangulation, the use of both quantitative and qualitative research methods and consisted of a focus group, questionnaires and interviews. The focus group consisted of four people with epilepsy living in the Western region of Ireland. This focus group assisted in the development of the self completion questionnaire which was distributed to people with epilepsy on the Brainwave database. The interviews consisted of two samples. The first sample consisted of four people with epilepsy living in the Western region of Ireland and the second sample consisted of five professionals working in the field of epilepsy. This research was an exploratory piece. It was guided by a number of hypotheses that emerged through a review of the literature. The guiding hypotheses in this research are confirmed. Firstly, quality of life issues for people with epilepsy are under-researched in Ireland. Secondly, there are real physical, social and psychological impacts for people living with epilepsy. Thirdly, epilepsy impacts on the quality of life of those living with the condition. Overall these impacts appear to be negative. However, this may be subject to the context of the individual.