Evaluation of Health Science Students’ Health Fatalism and Perception Towards Patients With Epilepsy: A Cross-Sectional Global Study

Abstract

The social acceptance of patients with epilepsy is largely determined by society's opinion of epilepsy; therefore, individuals with epilepsy could face prejudice and stigma as a result of negative impressions. Religious beliefs and mystical notions have been shown to influence attitudes toward epilepsy. Health fatalism could also be detrimental to society's and caregivers' approach toward such patients. In extreme settings, this could hinder them from obtaining an adequate treatment process. MethodsA cross-sectional exploratory study was conducted from February 2022 to May 2022 in Saudi Arabia, Spain, Scotland, and Italy using an online questionnaire consisting of 33 questions concerning the Health Fatalism Scale (HFS), the Epilepsy Knowledge Scale (EKS), and the Epilepsy Attitude Scale (EAS). ResultsA total of 735 health science students (HSS) participated in the present study. The majority of participants were females (64.1%) while male participants represented 34.6% of the study. Health science students currently studying in Saudi Arabia represented the majority of participants with a percentage of 58.5%. Among the four countries, students in Saudi Arabia presented with the highest knowledge mean score. Students in Spain had the highest mean attitude score. Muslim students had the highest mean fatalism scores followed by Christian students. ConclusionIn general, a high level of knowledge was observed among the participants, most notably, among Saudis who presented with the highest level of knowledge across the four countries. Regarding attitude, Spanish students presented the best attitude towards patients with epilepsy. Low fatalism scores were commonly observed across all countries regardless of their different demographic characteristics. Fatalism perception should be further detailed to ensure optimal services are delivered without prejudgment by future healthcare workers.

Clinical and Demographic Characteristics of Families Attending the Epilepsy, Neuromuscular, and Child Wellbeing Clinics

“…Such findings are echoed throughout the literature. A specific study included a large cohort (n=17,176) of children that also concluded similar findings of wider epilepsy prevalence [ 1 ]. In the context of global literature, our study presented novel data on underrepresented and vulnerable populations.…”

“…Neurological diseases entail a broad spectrum of disorders and pathologies that can arise from abnormalities in the structure, biochemical, brain electricity, spinal cord, cranial nerves, peripheral nerves, nerve roots, autonomic nervous system, neuromuscular junction, and muscles [ 1 , 2 ]. Abnormalities can also be a result of genetic disorders [ 3 ] that are prevalent among pediatric patients, especially in countries with higher consanguinity rates such as Saudi Arabia [ 4 , 5 ].…”