The international league against epilepsy primary healthcare educational curriculum: Assessment of educational needs.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the need for an epilepsy educational curriculum for primary healthcare providers formulated by the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) and the importance attributed to its competencies by epilepsy specialists and primary care providers and across country-income settings. METHODS: The ILAE primary care epilepsy curriculum was translated to five languages. A structured questionnaire assessing the importance of its 26 curricular competencies was posted online and publicized widely to an international community. Respondents included epilepsy specialists, primary care providers, and others from three World Bank country-income categories. Responses from different groups were compared with univariate and ordinal logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: Of 785 respondents, 60% noted that a primary care epilepsy curriculum did not exist or they were unaware of one in their country. Median ranks of importance for all competencies were high (very important to extremely important) in the entire sample and across different groups. Fewer primary care providers than specialists rated the following competencies as extremely important: definition of epilepsy (p = .03), recognition of seizure mimics (p = .02), interpretation of test results for epilepsy care (p = .001), identification of drug-resistant epilepsy (0.005) and management of psychiatric comorbidities (0.05). Likewise, fewer respondents from LMICs in comparison to UMICs rated 15 competencies as extremely important. SIGNIFICANCE: The survey underscores the unmet need for an epilepsy curriculum in primary care and the relevance of its competencies across different vocational and socioeconomic settings. Differences across vocational and country income groups indicate that educational packages should be developed and adapted to needs in different settings.

An epilepsy curriculum for primary health care providers: a report from the Education Council of the International League Against Epilepsy

Objective: Primary health care providers are directly responsible for the care of people with epilepsy. However, their education about epilepsy might be inadequate or lacking. Our objective was to develop an evidence-based and consensus-driven educational curriculum for the management of epilepsy within the primary healthcare setting. Methods: The International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) Education Council commissioned a task force of international experts, who met virtually at monthly intervals in 2020/2021 to develop the curriculum. The task force adopted and added to five domains from the ILAE Epileptology Curriculum after discussions on context, structure and wording of associated competencies and learning objectives. The consensus-approved curriculum was disseminated to the ILAE leadership and constituency in six different languages. An online survey was used to collate structured feedback which further refined the curriculum. Results: Feedback was obtained from 785 voluntary respondents who were inclusive of epilepsy specialists and primary healthcare providers. Nearly two thirds of the respondents approved the use of the curriculum to advance the competency of primary health care providers in epilepsy. The final educational curriculum comprised six domains, 26 competencies and 85 learning objectives. The six domains were: (1) ability to diagnose epilepsy and its broad subtypes; (2) ability to provide counselling to people with epilepsy over a range of issues; (3) ability to introduce treatment and follow-up to people with epilepsy; (4) competency to appropriately refer people to higher centres of care; (5) ability to manage epilepsy emergencies including status epilepticus; and (6) ability to recognize and provide basic care for psychiatric and somatic comorbidities. Conclusions: The curriculum represents an advance in providing inclusive care for epilepsy within the primary health care setting and ideally should be used to facilitate future primary health care epilepsy education packages.

A structured, blended learning program towards proficiency in epileptology: the launch of the ILAE Academy Level 2 Program

The ILAE Academy is the online learning platform of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) and offers a structured educational program addressing the competency-based ILAE curriculum in epileptology. The platform was launched in July 2020 with a self-paced course portfolio of interactive e-learning modules addressing ILAE Level 1 learning objectives, defined as the entry level in epileptology. Using feedback questionnaires from completed Level 1 courses as well as sociodemographic and learning-related data obtained from 47 participants, we show that over 50% of learners have an entry level in epileptology and do not have access to on-site training and over 40%do not have access to on-site training. Most respondents found the case-based e-learning modules relevant to their practice needs, and the time for completion was regarded as viable for most, reiterating the value of an online self-paced training in the field. Participants who have successfully completed all compulsory e-learning material of the Level 1 program and received their final certificate will now be eligible to subscribe to the Level 2 program. The Level 2 program addressing the proficiency level of the ILAE curriculum of epileptology was launched on the ILAE Academy platform in May 2022. The Level 2 program will offer an evolving series of self-paced, interactive, case-based e-learning modules on diagnosis, treatment, and counseling of common as well as rare epilepsies at a higher level of care. An interactive online EEG and MRI reader was developed and is embedded into the course content to satisfy the demands of the learners. The hallmark of this level will be the blended learning with tutored online courses, e.g., the established VIREPA courses on EEG and the newly introduced VIREPAMRI program. Our distinguished faculty willhold live tutored online courses in small groups in various languages and continental time zones. Finally, the ILAE face-to-face curricular teaching courses at summer schools and congresses will represent another pillar of this advanced teaching level. The ILAE Academy will also provide Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits to support career planning in epileptology.

e-learning comes of age: Web-based education provided by the International League Against Epilepsy.

Education tools and programs using interactive digital content, distributed on the internet, are increasingly becoming an integral part of postgraduate medical education. The coronavirus pandemic and global lockdown hoisted a major challenge for traditional teaching courses. A timely solution is to focus attention and reinforce web-based teaching programs. For more than 15 years, the ILAE has been developing and managing a wide range of e-learning programs. This paper provides an overview on the e-learning portfolio of the ILAE, including tutored e-courses, self-paced interactive e-courses and online multimedia resources, all linked to the ILAE curriculum and learning objectives addressing specific levels of professional experience. All e-learning programs will become available through the new ILAE Academy platform (www.ilae-academy.org), in July 2020. E-learning is an important tool for reaching the global educational mission of the ILAE.