Effect of educational interventions on level of epilepsy knowledge in children with epilepsy and parents: Systematic review and meta-analysis

Aim and Objectives The aim of the study was to synthesise the effect of educational interventions on the level of epilepsy knowledge in children with epilepsy and parents. Background Educational interventions are commonly used to provide knowledge about epilepsy management. One of the most important responsibilities of nurses is to inform children with epilepsy and parents in a skilful way. Design Systematic review and meta-analysis based on PRISMA 2020. Methods We searched CINAHL, Cochrane Library, Science Direct, Web of Science, Ovid, PubMed, Scopus, Springer Link, ProQuest, TR Index ending March 2021. The review followed the PRISMA guidelines. This meta-analysis was analysed in Comprehensive Meta-Analysis version 3 software. The risk of bias of included studies was assessed with the Cochrane handbook. The results were the level of epilepsy knowledge of children and parents. Results Ten studies meeting the inclusion criteria were included in this meta-analysis, including four randomised studies and six non-randomised studies. Educational interventions had large effect on improving the level of epilepsy knowledge in children with epilepsy (p < .001, Hedge's g = 1.19) and parents (p < .001, Hedge's g = 1.41). As a result of the subgroup analyses, significant differences were found only in the type of educational intervention. It was found that traditional education is more effective than technology-based education in improving the level of epilepsy knowledge in parents (p = .005, Hedge's g = 1.77). Conclusion Educational interventions have high and beneficial effect on the level of epilepsy knowledge in the children with epilepsy and parents; can be used as effective interventions in the epilepsy management. However, due to low number of randomised controlled studies, further high-quality randomised controlled studies are needed about this topic. Relevance to clinical practice The findings will contribute to the use of educational interventions in the epilepsy management for health professionals, especially nurses. Thus these interventions will contribute to improving epilepsy management of children with epilepsy and parents.