Background: Epilepsy is the most common chronic neurological disease seen in Pediatrics Neurology Units in many developing countries. It affects negatively on school attendance and academic performance. This study tries to assess the extent and factors contributing school absenteeism among school-aged children and adolescents among epilepsy cases attending at

Backgound: Epilepsy is the most common chronic neurological disease seen in Pediatrics Neurology Units in developing countries negatively affecting school attendance and academic performance.Comorbid learning and behavioral problems may also contribute to the academic difficulties among children with epilepsy. The main aim of this study is to assess the extent and factors contributing school absenteeism among school-aged children and adolescents with epilepsy.Methods: A hospital based follow-up study was conducted among school-aged children and adolescents with epilepsy between the ages of 7-18 years attending an outpatient Pediatric Neurology Clinic. A sample of 183 children and adolescents were included in the study. The participants (children and their parents/caregivers) gave information concerning the socio-demographic characteristics of the child and the primary caregiver, information regarding the child's presentation and whether or not they disclosed to teachers and peer. Medical charts were thoroughly reviewed on the diagnosis and prognosis. Study participants characteristics were described and logistic regression was used to determine factors associating with school absenteeism.Results: School absenteeism (≥1 days/month) over six month period among children aged 7-18 years with epilepsy was 69.4%. Factors which correlated with school absenteeism included female sex (AOR 2.19, 95% CI 1.03-4.84), children with known causes for seizures AOR 2.51, 95% CI 1.09-5.86), having seizure at school and longer epilepsy duration.Conclusion recommendation: School absenteeism was found in over two thirds of children aged 7-18 years with epilepsy attending an outpatient epilepsy clinic in Ethiopia.

Background: Epilepsy is the most common chronic neurological disease seen in Pediatrics Neurology Units in developing countries and like other chronic disorders it has been found to negatively affect school attendance and academic performance influencing school life of children. An educational underachievement can also be due to comorbid learning and behavioral problems in these children. The impact of epilepsy on school attendance may also contribute to the academic difficulties of children with epilepsy. The purpose of this study is to assess school absenteeism and determine which factors influence school absenteeism in school aged children and adolescents with epilepsy. Methods: A hospital based prospective study was conducted among school aged children and adolescents with epilepsy between the ages of 7-18 years attending at the Paediatric Neurology Clinic and their primary caretakers. A sample of 183 children and adolescents were included in the study. The participants (children and their parents/caregivers) gave information concerning the socio-demographic data, primary caregiver’s information like educational status, information concerning child’s seizure and epilepsy status disclosures to teachers and peer. And medical cards were thoroughly reviewed. Descriptive statistics and bi-variate logistic regression analysis was done to assess determinants of school absenteeism. Results: The prevalence of school absenteeism among children aged 7-18years at PNC follow up was 69.4%.Among other factors female sex with AOR 2.19(95% CI 1.03-4.84), having symptomatic seizure AOR 2.51(95% CI 1.09-5.86), having seizure at school and having longer duration of seizure were statistically significant association with school absenteeism. Conclusion: This study demonstrated the school absenteeism is very common among children aged 7-18 years at PNC follow up (69.4%) and that seizure has a significant impact on children’s school attendance. Keywords: Epilepsy; School; Childhood; Absenteeism; Ethiopia Trial registration: N/A

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