Knowledge Mobilisation & Policy Influencing

At the Centre for Global Epilepsy, we turn research into action through publishing, policy advocacy, and building key partnerships. By producing reports, hosting funder summits and collaborating with stakeholders, we shape policies and drive progress in epilepsy care.

Key Policy & Evidence-to-Practice Contributions

 

Improving Global Access to Levetiracetam

Oxford collaborators led the application that resulted in levetiracetam being added to the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines in June 2023, working directly with the WHO Expert Committee throughout the review. Expanding access to levetiracetam is clinically important, as it is a widely used and well-tolerated anti-seizure medicine that remains difficult to obtain consistently in many low-resource settings. In 2024, team members and international partners co-authored the Lancet Neurology commentary Equitable Access to Levetiracetam for People with Epilepsy describing barriers to accessing the medicine and presenting evidence for improving its availability.

 

Medicines Acces WHO

 

WHO Report: Improving Access to Medicines for Neurological Disorders

Members of the research team took part in expert consultations that informed the development of the WHO report Improving Access to Medicines for Neurological Disorders, published in 2024. The report evaluates barriers such as fragmented supply chains, affordability constraints and procurement limitations that restrict access to essential neurological medicines. By using epilepsy as a worked example, the report demonstrates how addressing treatment access for one condition can strengthen planning and delivery across wider mind-brain health services, particularly in low-resource health systems.

 

 

NICE Clinical Guideline NG217

Involvement in the development of NICE NG217: Epilepsies in children, young people and adults included advisory participation across more than 70 committee meetings and leadership of specialist taskgroups between 2018 and 2022. The guideline informs national recommendations for diagnosis, treatment and service delivery in the UK, shaping clinical decision-making and supporting more consistent standards of care.