Abstract
Mental health issues become especially problematic when adolescents with epilepsy
are preparing to transition from pediatric to adult care. Consistent with guidelines,
a transition clinic with ongoing mental health assessment was created, providing treatment
to patients scoring in the moderate severity range or higher. In order to examine
the effectiveness of our epilepsy transition clinic and the impact of mental health
in transition-aged adolescents, baseline and one-year follow-up data were compared
in 36 participants (M = 15.82 years, 24 males). Results showed that the majority of
participants had improved or comparable mental health scores at follow-up. Furthermore,
participants who met threshold for mental health treatment had significantly improved
mental health (t = 3.19, p = 0.015), while those who did not showed worsened mental health (t = − 2.50, p = 0.019). Looking specifically at mental health impact, those with worsened mental
health showed significantly worsened quality of life (t = 3.35, p = 0.012). Furthermore, those without mental health issues showed improved transition
skills (t = − 3.86, p = 0.002), while those with mental health issues did not. Results suggest that the
transition clinic is effective in helping transition-aged adolescents with their mental
health. Additionally, findings suggest that addressing these mental health issues
are essential to ensuring successful transitions and the best outcomes in these patients.
Keywords
transition - mental health - adolescents with epilepsy
