An Instructional Module for Functional Dissociative Seizures (FDS) in Hindi: Enhancing Communication and Management in India.

Abstract

Background and objectives: Functional dissociative seizures (FDS) are very common in neurology clinics, they straddle both neurology and psychiatry. In India, scarce resources and guidelines are available for effectively conveying their diagnosis and management, which leads to a substantial gap in care. We aimed to provide an instructional module for FDS, tailored to clinicians, patients, and caregivers in Hindi, to enhance communication of diagnosis and facilitate suitable management strategies.

Methods: The instructional module development process was based on clinical settings and expert opinions. A standard translation process was performed to ensure the linguistic and cultural equivalence. Validation was carried out by a panel of 15 validators, comprising 13 neurologists and two psychiatrists, to identify key psychoeducation components and their significance. They were provided a questionnaire consisting of five questions that were related to completeness, understandability, legibility, clarification, and usefulness of educational material for clinicians, patients, and caregivers. Items were rated using a 5-point Likert scale.

Results: There was agreement on four items (Q1, Q3, Q4, and Q5), whereas approximately 85% of the validators agreed on the remaining one item (Q2). The instructional module demonstrated high content validity as indicated by both item level-content validity index (0.98) and scale-level content validity index (0.97), alongside content validity ratio and modified kappa statistics.

Conclusions: The developed Hindi instructional module for FDS serves as a valuable tool to enhance the communication of FDS diagnosis and dispel misconceptions. This offers a comprehensive resource for clinicians, patients, and caregivers in India, potentially bridging gap in FDS care.