Neurológia pre prax 5/2021

Parents' experience of health care provided to children with epilepsy

The purpose of the project Health Talk is to provide publicly available information on how people experience various illnesses. This qualitative research offers insights into experiences of parents who have children with epilepsy in the area of specialized health care. The qualitative content analysis is based on 32 in-depth interviews with parents of children with epilepsy of children aged 0 to 18 years using the DIPEx method. The results show that parents evaluate subjectively their experiences with health care based on their experiences with the doctor’s and medical staff’s attitude (communication, humanity, patience) and based on the amount and type of information provided by the physician, especially at the beginning of the treatment. The participants described the problematic of the accessibility of the health care in terms of capacity and physical distance and related issues as well.

Keywords: epilepsy, health care, qualitative research