RESUMEN
Objective: The study intended to analyze the effects of a group nursing intervention on quality of life (QoL) of patients with epilepsy (EP) after treatment with sodium valproate combined with lamotrigine. Design: The research team performed a randomized controlled trial. Setting: The study took place in the Department of Neurology at the Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. Participants: Participants were 170 EP patients at the hospital between January 2019 and August 2022. Intervention: The research team randomly assigned participants to one of two groups: (1) 85 to the intervention group, and they took part in a group nursing intervention; and (2) 85 to the control group (n = 85) and they received conventional care. Outcome Measures: To evaluate participants' risk of suicide, psychological state, and QOL, participants completed at baseline and postintervention: (1) the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI), (2) the Self-Rating Scale for Psychiatric Symptoms 90 (SCL-90), and (3) the Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) To assess participants' management ability, self-efficacy, and social functioning, they also completed at those time points: (1) the EP Self-Management Behavior Scale (ESMS), (2) the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES), and (3) the Social Functioning Deficit Screening Scale (SDSS). Finally, the research also investigated participants' satisfaction with the nursing care. Results: The intervention group's risk of suicide decreased between baseline and postintervention, and its SCL-90 scores were significantly lower and SF-36 scores were significantly higher than those of the control group (both P < .05). In addition, the intervention group's ESMS and GSES scores were also significantly higher than those of the control group, while its SDSS score was significantly lower than that of the control group (all P < .05). Finally, the intervention group's nursing satisfaction was also significantly higher than that of the control group (P < .05). Conclusions: The group nursing intervention can effectively improve the psychological states of EP patients, reduce their pain, improve their self-management skills and QoL, provide them with better and more detailed nursing care, and facilitate the treatment and recovery of EP patients, which can have a significant value in clinical practice.