Quality of Epilepsy Care

Call for Papers

Assessing and improving the quality of healthcare remains a priority as clinicians are increasingly being held accountable for the care that they provide. This is especially true for highly prevalent conditions that significantly impact health status. Epilepsy is one such common condition associated with considerable morbidity and increased mortality. Epilepsy care is particularly complex as it requires both technical skill in the management of its many complications, as well as the ability to address the unique psychosocial needs of epilepsy patients and their families. Studies are beginning to suggest that there are important gaps in the quality of epilepsy care, yet much remains unknown. Approaches to improving epilepsy care have not also been well defined.

We invite authors to submit original articles and review articles that seek to describe the quality of epilepsy care and how it may be improved. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Development of novel approaches to assess the quality of epilepsy care
• Understanding patient and family preferences for epilepsy care
• Describing the quality of epilepsy care in specific settings and populations including cross-national comparisons
• Understanding reasons for variations in quality of epilepsy care including racial disparities
• Describing the impact of specific policies, such as pay for performance, on the quality of epilepsy care
• Comparing quality of care provided by epilepsy specialists versus primary care
• Describing associations between quality of care and health status/quality of life
• Developing and describing innovative approaches for improving the quality of epilepsy care

Before submission authors should carefully read over the journal's Author Guidelines, which are located at http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ert/guidelines/. Prospective authors should submit an electronic copy of their complete manuscript through the journal Manuscript Tracking System at http://mts.hindawi.com/submit/journals/ert/qec/ according to the following timetable:

Lead Guest Editor

• Dan Berlowitz, Center for Health Quality, Outcomes and Economic Research, Bedford VA Hospital, Bedford, MA, USA

Guest Editors

• Lewis Kazis, Department of Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
• Mary Jo Pugh, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, TX, USA