National Strategies on Bridging Gaps and Health Equity in Epilepsy Care

Authors

• Lu Lu, Department of Neurology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
• Weixi Xiong, Department of Neurology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
• Yicong Lin, Department of Neurology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
• Mohamad Z. Koubeissi, Department of Neurology and Rehabilitation Medicine, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA.
• R Edward Hogan, Department of Neurology, Washington University in St. Louis, MO, USA.
• Dong Zhou, Department of Neurology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

3-13-2026

Journal

Epilepsy currents

DOI

10.1177/15357597261428841

Keywords

ECHO; Intersectoral Global Action Plan (IGAP); epilepsy; epilepsy surgery; treatment gap

Abstract

Because there are many effective treatments for epileptic seizures, there is a great need for optimal diagnostic and treatment pathways. We present national strategies to address gaps and health equity in patients with epileptic seizures, focusing on efforts in China and the USA. We outline the delay in diagnosis and treatment caused by the "treatment gap." Efforts in China to address the "treatment gap" include the National Rural Epilepsy Management Project, the establishment of the national epilepsy quality control system, and standardized tertiary epilepsy center development. In the USA, Project Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO) epilepsy enables specialists to partner with primary care clinicians to deliver care. The National Association of Epilepsy Centers facilitates care and contributes to the standardization of presurgical epilepsy evaluation. A major recent and ongoing development is the Epilepsy National Plan in the USA, coordinated through the American Epilepsy Society (AES) with 120 epilepsy-related organizations, to advance a comprehensive national plan that reflects the needs of the entire epilepsy community.

APA Citation

Lu, Lu; Xiong, Weixi; Lin, Yicong; Koubeissi, Mohamad Z.; Hogan, R Edward; and Zhou, Dong, "National Strategies on Bridging Gaps and Health Equity in Epilepsy Care" (2026). GW Authored Works. Paper 8881.
https://hsrc.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/gwhpubs/8881

Department

Neurology