ArticleBMJ open2019
Improving paediatric epilepsy management at the first level of care: a pilot education intervention for clinical officers in Zambia.
Article in BMJ open, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed.
- Integrating neurology in community healthcare in sub-Saharan Africa: experience and outcomes of the 7-year partnership between the Italian Society of Neurology and the DREAM program.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2026Review
- Knowledge and Self-Efficacy Levels of Family Physicians on Epilepsy Management in Türkiye: Pre- and Post-Education Evaluation.Sisli Etfal Hastanesi tip bulteni · 2025Article
- Survey on the management of childhood epilepsy among general practitioners in the area of Marrakech.BMC pediatrics · 2023Article
- Task-sharing to support paediatric and child health service delivery in low- and middle-income countries: current practice and a scoping review of emerging opportunities.Human resources for health · 2021Article
- No time for change? Impact of contextual factors on the effect of training primary care healthcare workers in Kyrgyzstan and Vietnam on how to manage asthma in children - A FRESH AIR implementation study.BMC health services research · 2020Article
- The competence of village clinicians in the diagnosis and management of childhood epilepsy in Southwestern China and its determinants: A cross-sectional study.The Lancet regional health. Western Pacific · 2020Article
- Ketogenic diet in Zambia: Managing drug-resistant epilepsy in a low and middle income country.Epilepsy & behavior reports · 2020Article
- Development and Evaluation of a Pediatric Epilepsy Training Program for First Level Providers in Zambia.Global pediatric health · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveEpilepsy affects approximately 50 million people globally, with approximately 80% living in low/middle-income countries (LMIC), where access to specialist care is limited. In LMIC, primary health workers provide the majority of epilepsy care, despite limited training in this field. Recognising this knowledge gap among these providers is an essential component for closing the epilepsy treatment gap in these regions.
settingIn Zambia, the vast majority of healthcare is provided by clinical officers (COs), primary health providers with 3 years post-secondary general medical education, who predominantly work in first-level health centres around the country.
participantsWith cooperation from the Ministry of Health, a total of 10 COs from 4 surrounding first-level health centres around the capital city of Lusaka participated, with 9 completing the entire course.
interventionCOs were trained in a 3-week structured course on paediatric seizures and epilepsy, based on adapted evidence-based guidelines.
resultsPreassessment and postassessment were conducted to assess the intervention. Following the course, there was improved overall knowledge about epilepsy (69% vs 81%, p<0.05), specifically knowledge regarding medication management and recognition of focal seizures (p<0.05), improved seizure history taking and appropriate medication titration (p<0.05). However, knowledge regarding provoked seizures, use of diagnostic studies and general aetiologies of epilepsy remained limited.
conclusionsThis pilot project demonstrated that a focused paediatric epilepsy training programme for COs can improve knowledge and confidence in management, and as such is a promising step for improving the large epilepsy treatment gap in children in Zambia. With feasibility demonstrated, future projects are needed to expand to more rural regions for more diverse and larger sample of primary health provider participants and encompass more case-based training and repetition of key concepts as well as methods to improve and assess long-term knowledge retention.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.