MOSES: An Educational Program for Patients with Epilepsy and Their Relatives

Abstract

Summary: The knowledge of patients with epilepsy about their own condition is poor, and thus the need for educational programs for people with epilepsy has long been recognized. However, no such programs have been established in their routine care. The Modular Service Package Epilepsy (MOSES) now tries to fill this gap for patients in German‐speaking countries. The program was developed by a multidisciplinary group (neurologists, nonmedical professional helpers, and representatives of national epilepsy associations) for people with epilepsy older than 16 years, independent of the kind and severity of their epilepsy. MOSES is designed for group education and can be used in inpatient and outpatient settings in epilepsy centers, in clinics, and by neurologists in private practice. The program aims to help patients achieve a better understanding of their disease, to gain more self‐confidence, and to take over responsibility, thus supporting patients to become experts in managing their own illness. Being modular in structure, MOSES includes nine units: living with epilepsy, epidemiology, basic knowledge, diagnostics, therapy, self‐control, prognosis, psychosocial aspects, and network epilepsy. MOSES consists of a workout manual for patients and a trainer manual. For potential trainers, special “train‐the‐trainer seminars” are offered and considered mandatory. About 400 patients have participated in a MOSES training program in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. The efficacy of the program is currently been evaluated.

Implementation fidelity of a self-management course for epilepsy: method and assessment

“…It thus becomes important to find how much variability is permitted before the intervention becomes compromised, and for this implementation fidelity studies are necessary [3]. The facilitators of the SMILE(UK) course were encouraged to adapt the material to match a particular group’s needs [33]. However, for our randomised controlled trial of the self-management course [5], it was important to measure the delivery of the core items thought to be important in behaviour change.…”

Verhaltensmedizin in der Neurologie: State of the Art

“…Wurden in der Vergangenheit fast ausschließlich anfallszentrierte Maßnahmen praktiziert, finden sich derzeit vorwiegend kognitiv-behaviorale Interventionen. Diese wirken zwar mit großem Erfolg auf die emotionalen Begleiterscheinungen der Erkrankung, jedoch haben sie auf die Charakteristika der epileptischen Anfälle weniger Einfluss [Mula, 2014;CrailMeléndez, et al, 2012;Macrodimitris et al, 2011;Goldstein et al, 2003;Ramaratnam et al, 2008;Gandy et al, 2013;Tang et al, 2014;May und Pfäfflin, 2002;Ried et al, 2001;SchmidtSchönbein, 1998]. [Leplow 2008a,b;2011b;Leplow und Wiemann, 2010;Leplow, et al, 2013].…”

Quality of life is social – Towards an improvement of social abilities in patients with epilepsy

“…These tend to be targeted approaches, focusing on aspects such as self-management (e.g. WebEase) [22], psychoeducation [23,24] and mood through CBT approaches (e.g. UPLIFT for epilepsy) [25] and physical and social activation (e.g.…”

“…The Modular Service Package Epilepsy (MOSES) [23] provides a more multifaceted educational approach and has been subject to more rigorous evaluation. This group approach is a 2-day program aimed at improving patient's knowledge about epilepsy, increasing self-confidence and encouraging responsibility in self-management.…”