Pilot trial of “Epi-school” group psychosocial education program for patients with epilepsy and their relatives in Japan

•It is important for patients with epilepsy (PWE) to have accurate knowledge of epilepsy and to actively engage in treatment.•We conducted a pilot of the “Epi-school” group psychosocial education program for PWE and their relatives in Japan.•Epi-school may improve knowledge and induced psychological changes, including increased quality of life and positive acceptance of epilepsy.•We plan to further investigate the usefulness of psychosocial education programs in Japan. In epilepsy treatment, it is important for patients with epilepsy (PWE) to have accurate knowledge of epilepsy and to actively engage in treatment. In Japan, there are a few facilities for implementing learning programs for PWE, and their long-term usefulness has not been established. We conducted a pilot group psychosocial education program for PWE and their relatives in Japan. Participants were PWE and their relatives who were 18 years old or older, were able to consent to participate in the study, and who were visiting the outpatient clinic of Saitama Medical Center from September 2019 to March 2020. As an intervention, we created a psychosocial educational program called “Epi-school” for PWE and their relatives, consisting of three sessions. Outcomes included patients’ quality of life (QOL) measured with the epilepsy-31-P (QOLIE-31P), Rosenberg self-esteem scale (RSES), Stigma scale for chronic neurological disease (SSCI-8), and Epilepsy knowledge scale, before and after Epi-school. In addition, in a free-form questionnaire, we collected the impressions of patients and their relatives regarding the experience of participating in a group psychosocial education program. We examined 11 patients (two males, nine females) and 12 relatives (four males, eight females) who participated in Epi-school during the target period. The analyses revealed that only the scales measuring knowledge about epilepsy in the effect index showed significant increases in both patients and relatives after the program compared with before the program (patients: F [1,5.30] = 13.65, P