Community-based management of epilepsy in Southeast Asia: Two intervention strategies in Lao PDR and Cambodia.

Background: Epilepsy affects more than 50 million people worldwide, 80% of whom live in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In Southeast Asia, the prevalence is moderate (6‰), and the main public health challenge is reducing the treatment gap, which reaches more than 90% in rural areas.

Methods: This 12-month comparative study (intervention vs.

Availability, affordability, and quality of essential anti-seizure medication in Cambodia.

Objective: Epilepsy is a major neurological disorder that requires long-term medical treatment. Once epilepsy is diagnosed, people with epilepsy face many difficulties in accessing treatment (treatment gap). Our objective was to assess the situation regarding the availability, price, affordability, and quality of anti-seizure medication (ASM), which are major determinants of access to treatment.

Differences in knowledge about epilepsy and antiepileptic drugs among pharmacy-dispensing workers in Cambodia and in Lao PDR.

Unlabelled: Epilepsy is the most common neurological disorder encountered in primary care in Southeast Asia. People with epilepsy require long-term therapy management. Nonadherence to antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) has been identified as a major factor in suboptimal control of epilepsy.

Underutilization of epilepsy surgery in ASEAN countries.

Purpose: This survey was performed to determine the availability of epilepsy surgery, and understand the limiting factors to epilepsy surgery in ASEAN countries with total of 640 million population.

Method: A cross-sectional survey was completed by national representatives in all ASEAN countries (Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam).

Results: Overall facilities for initial epilepsy pre-surgical evaluation are available in most countries, but further non-invasive and invasive investigations are limited.

Epilepsy: some controversies, some knowledge and some experience from Cambodia.

Epilepsy-related health outcomes remain unacceptably low in much of the developing world. According to us, it is because of the failure since long to see, and address, epilepsy beyond its preset conventional image. The objective of this paper was to highlight the presence, and influence, of these conventional practices and also to demonstrate what happened when a bold unconventional approach to address epilepsy was taken in Cambodia.

Comprehensive evaluation of the psychosocial parameters of epilepsy: a representative population-based study in Prey Veng (Cambodia).

Purpose: We conducted a population-based study of epilepsy in Prey Veng (Cambodia) to explore self-esteem, fear, discrimination, knowledge-attitude-practice (KAP), social-support, stigma, coping strategies, seizure-provoking factors, and patient-derived factors associated with quality of life (QOL).

Methods: The results are based on a cohort of 96 cases and matched controls (n = 192), randomly selected from the same source population. Various questionnaires were developed and validated for internal consistency (by split-half, Spearman-Brown prophecy, Kuder-Richardson 20), content clarity and soundness.

Epilepsy in Asia: a Cambodian experience.

Epilepsy is particularly challenging for resource-poor countries and in turn for Asia which is likely to have greater challenges in terms of treatment cost and deficit, premature mortality, health transitions, population and poverty size, etc. Here we present an example of working in one of the resource-poor 'least-talked-about' populations to demonstrate that finding financial means and achieving cross-country cooperation over a long period of time is possible even in countries with currently limited resources. Conducting such cooperation could be a model for other initiatives.

Population-based study of epilepsy in Cambodia associated factors, measures of impact, stigma, quality of life, knowledge-attitude-practice, and treatment gap.

Purpose: Identify epilepsy-associated factors and calculate measures of impact, stigma, quality of life (QOL), knowledge-attitude-practice (KAP) and treatment gap in Prey Veng, Cambodia.

Methods: This first Cambodian population-based case-control study had 96 epileptologist-confirmed epilepsy cases and 192 randomly selected matched healthy controls. Standard questionnaires, which have been used in similar settings, were used for collecting data on various parameters.

First-ever, door-to-door cross-sectional representative study in Prey Veng province (Cambodia).

Purpose: To estimate the lifetime prevalence of epilepsy in Prey Veng province (Cambodia).

Methods: Door-to-door screening was performed using a random cluster survey whereby all people >1 year of age were screened for epilepsy by using a validated and standardized questionnaire for epilepsy in tropical countries. Suspected epilepsy patients identified by the questionnaire were revisited and examined by epileptologists.