Background: Social support has a significant role for patients with chronic conditions like epilepsy. The Covid-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on people around the world and is expected to have a greater impact on people with disabilities. As a part of our Covid-19 pandemic study, we're looking at the impact of social support onpatients with epilepsy (PWE).
Objective: This study aims to assess social support and its effects on PWE during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Patients and Methods: A total of 290 PWE were included in this study. Personal interviews with each patient were conducted using the Oslo Social Support Scale (OSSS 3) for measuring social support, the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHO 9) scale for diagnosing and assessing the severity of depression, and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale for diagnosing and assessing the severity of anxiety (GAD 7). Results: During the pandemic, we observed a decrease in family support for PWE, which was associated with an increase in depression and anxiety. As the pandemic spreads, we found that a lack of social support is linked to an increase in depressive symptoms and seizures.
Conclusion: Social support plays an important role in psychological well-being and for a better course of disease in PWE.