Re-PROGRAM: The evaluation of a brief intervention program for patients with functional seizures in an outpatient hospital setting

Objective

Functional seizures (FS) account for 20%–25% of referrals to specialist epilepsy clinics. They are associated with major disability, increased mortality, and frequent and costly health care use. Current guidelines emphasize the importance of implementing clinical pathways to coordinate and deliver effective treatment, but there are few targeted evidence-based interventions that reliably improve patient outcomes, and treatment resources are limited. We conducted a retrospective evaluation of Re-PROGRAM, a novel, brief intervention for functional seizure patients, to assess its feasibility in an outpatient setting.

Methods

Twenty-nine patients with FS undertook Re-PROGRAM between August 2020 and January 2022 at the Alfred Hospital Functional Seizures Clinic, Melbourne, Australia. The intervention comprised five 60–90-min consecutive weekly appointments via telehealth, where psychologists engaged patients in a structured program of seizure management skills, lifestyle modification, and behavioral activation strategies. Following the intervention, patient feedback was collected in routine clinical follow-up as well as with a 24-item self-report pre-/postintervention comparison questionnaire.

Results

All 29 patients who enrolled in Re-PROGRAM completed the scheduled sessions. Of those who returned the postintervention questionnaire (n = 16), 15 reported a reduction in seizure frequency. Four patients were lost to follow-up. Of the remaining nine, eight reported seizure frequency reduction during clinical follow-up. Qualitative analysis of the feedback revealed the majority of patients reported reduced seizure duration, intensity, and bothersomeness, and patients felt improvements in their sense of control over seizures, confidence to use seizure control strategies, assertive communication, problem solving, coping skills, relationships with others, and their day-to-day functioning.

Significance

This retrospective evaluation demonstrates the feasibility and acceptability of Re-PROGRAM as a brief intervention for individuals diagnosed with FS delivered in a clinical outpatient setting and warrants further investigation in larger scale, randomized controlled studies.