Programs begin in development. At the beginning, programs must be transformed from a great idea to a tangible program. This is the stage where a program is designed, a curriculum is developed, and materials are created for both facilitators and participants. This process involves input from researchers, health care professionals, and people with epilepsy and their support person(s). 

Then programs are evaluated. After a program is developed, it must be tested to see if it works. The MEW Network requires that programs undergo rigorous, high quality scientific testing. This means that a randomized control trial must be performed for each new program. If a program is being tested in your area, you may have the opportunity to participate and contribute to the study.

Finally, programs are described as evidence-based after they have gone through multiple study phases, and research results show that they are effective in positively impacting outcomes. A program is only considered evidence-based if statistically significant changes have been shown through various study measures, and documentation of program evaluation is publicly available (e.g., peer-reviewed publication; organizational report).

Although a program can be labeled “evidence-based,” it doesn’t mean that all research has stopped. There is always a need for more research—with new groups of people with epilepsy, populations or because minor changes have been made to the program.  These are called “replication studies.”  CDC has funded two rounds of replication studies of MEW Network programs first in 2014 and then in 2019.  Several replication studies have added to the evidence-base of MEW Network programs and have identified ways to improve the program (e.g., patient preferences for phone delivery vs. web).  

Legacy evidence-based programs. These are evidence-based programs developed over 10 years ago that were successfully implemented in the past, but now require more resources to update or implement them (e.g., WebEase—an online program originally developed in 2007).  

Programs that require more research. These are programs that remain under evaluation (e.g., MINDSET); or are no longer under evaluation, but were developed according to MEW Network standards and either didn’t show any positive changes in study outcomes (e.g., FOCUS), or couldn’t reach a large enough sample size to rigorously evaluate study outcomes (e.g., PAUSE, YESS).