title: Obstacles to mental health care in pediatric epilepsy: insight from parents.
abstract: This exploratory study compared the responses of 20 Caucasian and 20 Hispanic mothers of children with epilepsy about possible obstacles to mental health care (MHC) for their children before and after they read a brochure on the neurobehavioral comorbidities of epilepsy. The intervention significantly increased the mothers' knowledge of the behavior and cognitive comorbidities of pediatric epilepsy and their treatment. Baseline differences in the attitude toward MHC and the stigma of epilepsy between Hispanic and Caucasian mothers were no longer apparent after the intervention. Irrespective of ethnicity, the mothers also became significantly more aware that their children did not want to have epilepsy-related behavior and learning difficulties. Efficient use of time spent in doctors' waiting rooms to educate parents about the neurobehavioral comorbidities of epilepsy can address the lack-of-knowledge barrier to MHC. However, the study's findings suggested a need to determine if there are specific obstacles to MHC in pediatric epilepsy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1759, USA.
authors.forename: Pamela
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vona
authors.forename: Prabha
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Siddarth
authors.forename: Raman
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sankar
authors.forename: Rochelle
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Caplan
mesh_terms: D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D044465:White People