Caroline K. Mbuba|Anthony Ngugi|Charles R. Newton|Julie A. Carter
The epilepsy treatment gap in developing countries: A systematic review of the magnitude, causes, and intervention strategies
Kenya Medical Research Institute|Kenya Medical Research Institute|London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine|University College London|Kenya Medical Research Institute|London International Development Centre
summary many developing countries people epilepsy receive appropriate treatment condition phenomenon called treatment gap tg carried systematic review investigate magnitude causes intervention strategies improve outcomes developing countries systematically searched medline embase psycinfo databases supplemented hand search references key papers degree heterogeneity pooled tg estimate determined using metaanalysis techniques estimates stratified continent location study urban rural twentyseven studies met inclusion criteria twelve africa nine asia six latin america observed high degree heterogeneity inconsistency studies overall estimate tg 56100 95 confidence interval ci 3111000 variation estimates could possibly explained nonuniform tg estimation methods diverse study populations among factors tg mainly attributed inadequate skilled manpower cost treatment cultural beliefs unavailability antiepileptic drugs aeds factors addressed using different intervention strategies education supply aeds future research estimate tg coherently develop sustainable interventions address causes