About half of the world’s children with epilepsy do not receive treatment – known as the epilepsy treatment gap – with significantly higher rates (67%-90%) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) of Africa. We will conduct the first cluster-randomized clinical trial (cRCT), at sixty sites in three major cities in northern Nigeria, to determine the efficacy, implementation, and cost-effectiveness of a novel intervention shifting childhood epilepsy care to epilepsy-trained community health extension workers in an effort to close the epilepsy treatment gap. This research will provide information to help extend epilepsy treatment to children in LMICs worldwide who suffer from untreated seizures.
Start date: 1 August 2019 | Proposed end date: 31 July 2024
Region: Africa
Languages: English, Hausa
Lead institution: Aminu Kano Teaching Hosital, Kano, Nigeria
Location: Kano, Kaduna, and Zaria, Nigeria
Principal investigator / organizer: Edwin Trevathan, M.D., M.P.H.
Patient age: Pediatric
Type of project: Clinical, Community education, Research, Capacity building, Healthcare professional education, Cluster randomized clinical trial
Funding source: Government
Project needs: None at present
Related publications (PMID): 31049462
Contact: Edwin Trevathan, M.D., M.P.H.