CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

Purpose : To describe explanatory models (EMs) about theirillness reported by patients with drug- resistant epilepsy, intwo public hospitals in Buenos Aires (Argentina).Methods : A qualitative approach was used. In- depthinterviews were administered to 51 patients admitted tothe VEEG units of the Hospital Ramos Mejía and HospitalEl Cruce (Argentina), in order to obtain their perspectivesabout epilepsy. A thematic analysis of the content of theinterviews was carried out, starting with an open coding ofthe data. The data was organized into topics, depending onthe relationship between the codes initially identified. As apreliminary data analysis, frequencies of each category wereobtained.Results : The codes were grouped into four major categories:1. Biomedical EMs (biological explanations);2 . Psychological/psychosocial EMs (explanations related toemotions and to the effects of the environment);3 . Religious and traditional EMs (explanations related todeities or spirits, or to popular medicine);4 . Explanations about the factors that increase the seizureFrequency. Most respondents (N = 46) reported more than oneexplanatory model about epilepsy in their narratives.Conclusions : Patients′ explanatory models about epilepsyare complex: they involve biological, psychological andsupernatural aspects. Biological EMs were expected to befound since these patients have been attending to hospitalsfor many years. Psychosocial EMs were also frequent,which is consistent with the dissemination and acceptanceof psychotherapy in Argentina. Religious and traditionalEMs implies that epilepsy can be interpreted both as a divinemessage, as the loss of the soul or as curses from nearbypeople. These beliefs are often associated with the use ofunconventional treatments, such as traditional healing.Patients′ EMs, therefore, can differ from those used by theirphysicians and affect the communication between them.Being aware of these aspects will enable better health care

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