Anne Vagner Jakobsen’s Research

Anne Vagner Jakobsen works to achieve a better understanding of the cognitive and psychosocial consequences of epilepsy in children, adolescents, and their families. The research supports better patient care and offerings for families to improve the well-being and development of the children and to foster a less burdened family life, allowing them to experience a normal family environment.

Current Research Project

“Managing Anxiety – When Your Child Has Epilepsy” is a family program based on cognitive behavioral therapy, aimed at children in 1st to 6th grade. The treatment program is adapted from a program developed by the Center for Anxiety at the University of Copenhagen for families with children with epilepsy and, in some cases, reduced functional capacity.

The treatment program alleviates the burden parents experience when caring for a child with epilepsy. Research indicates that one of the factors influencing the level of stress and burden is the sense of control over one’s life circumstances. The less control parents feel, the greater the burden they experience in relation to their child’s difficulties. With “Managing Anxiety – When Your Child Has Epilepsy,” the research helps parents feel in control of one of the challenges their child faces by having an anxiety disorder. Anne Vagner Jakobsen will investigate whether this also helps reduce the parents’ own perception of burden.

Research Areas

• Family burden when a child is affected by serious illness
• Medical trauma in children with epilepsy
• Anxiety treatment program for children with epilepsy
• Health literacy and communication in interactions with the healthcare system
• Outcome measurement of patient care pathways
• Effects of experimental medical treatments on cognition and behavior in children and adolescents with epilepsy
• Developmental trajectories in children with severe epilepsy