Dr Arjune Sen heads up the Oxford Epilepsy Research Group. In partnership with local charity SUDEP Action, he will lead a project to investigate how COVID-19 has impacted on people with epilepsy, their carers and health care workers. In particular, they are interested in assessing escalation and mitigation of risk.
The team will be addressing this question using data from across the globe. They will employ surveys using the online JISC platform - pilot surveys are currently being reviewed and translated into multiple languages. The data will be entered anonymously and analysed in aggregated. It is hoped that as many as 500 participants will be engaged.
The aim is to use the findings to make specific recommendations on how to manage risk in people with epilepsy during the coronavirus pandemic and beyond. The team will highlight challenges and opportunities in a global context which can inform and improve patient care and help save lives.
Initially this work will be funded by the Oxfordshire Biomedical Research Centre and SUDEP Action. Collaborators include University College London and Professor Charles Newton from the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Oxford.