Evaluation of knowledge about epilepsy and attitudes towards patients with epilepsy among university students in Upper Egypt

Thabit, Mohamed N.; Sayed, Mohamed El; Ali, Manjoor

doi:10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2018.05.003

Cited by 10 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Having epilepsy affects the person's social life and is associated with a lower chance of getting married, with being abandoned by their friends, with people gossiping about them; it also causes other people to fear them. Negative community perceptions of marriage of people with epilepsy have been reported from different locations [42][43][44][45][46][47][48]. People with epilepsy and their views may often be derided.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Traditional practices and perceptions of epilepsy among people in Roma communities in Bulgaria

Antimov

Tournev

Zhelyazkova

et al. 2020

Epilepsy & Behavior

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Purpose: We attempted to identify cultural aspects of epilepsy among the Roma community in Bulgaria by elucidating cultural beliefs, traditional treatments, and potential markers of stigma.Methods: We established representative discussion groups among five distinct Roma subgroups (Lom, Kalderas, Thracian Tinsmiths (Tinkers), Kyustendil Xoroxane and Kopanari) from different Bulgarian regions. Data about local beliefs and treatment strategies were gathered.Results: Most people were familiar with convulsions but non-convulsive focal seizures were seen not as epileptic but mainly as a "mental problem". Beliefs about putative etiologies for epilepsy were not uniform as some considered environmental and external factors such as high environmental temperatures, electric shocks, loud music, and fever as causes of seizures while others listed bad experiences, stress, trauma, fear and fright as possible causes. Epilepsy was seen by some as a divine punishment or resulting from black magic. Most considered epilepsy shameful and an obstacle to children attending school. Despite local differences, there was a uniform belief that epilepsy is incurable by Western medicine and people usually resort to traditional healers. A variety of rituals performed by local healers to treat epilepsy were described.Discussion: Misconceptions about epilepsy may contribute to stigmatization in this population; this may in turn contribute to a high treatment gap in this group. As a result, the majority of Roma children with epilepsy leave school early, are greatly limited in their choice of spouse (particularly girls), and marriages often occur between people with epilepsy or those with a family history of epilepsy.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Traditional practices and perceptions of epilepsy among people in Roma communities in Bulgaria

Antimov

Tournev

Zhelyazkova

et al. 2020

Epilepsy & Behavior

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“…Many studies have revealed that some families still disagree that their children should marry PWE, because they are afraid that PWE will pass the illness to their descendants [3]. Thabit et al designed a study to assess the attitudes toward patients with epilepsy, and found that approximately 49.9% of individuals without epilepsy are not able to marry a partner with epilepsy, and 49.9% of them think that PWE should not have children [34]. In Korea, most people still have negative attitudes toward epilepsy because they think that "epilepsy cannot be treated [32].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Epilepsy in China: Factors influencing marriage status and fertility

Chen

Abdulaziz

et al. 2019

Seizure

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To investigate the current status of marriage and fertility of patients with epilepsy (PWE) and characterize its influencing factors. Methods: A total of 1,823 adult patients (males age 22 years or older, females age 20 years or older) were included in this study. Data concerning sociodemographic and clinical characteristics were collected. Descriptive analyses, followed by univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were utilized to examine factors associated with marriage and fertility of PWE. Marital status of PWE was compared with Chinese population. Standardized marriage rate (SMR) for age and sex was estimated based on the 2010 sixth national population census.Results: 1,132 patients (62.1%) were married and 823 (45.1%) had a history of fertility. Patients had lower marriage rates than Chinese population (62.1% vs 78.4%). Patients with adult-onset epilepsy (> 18 years) had a significantly higher rate of marriage and fertility (p ＜ 0.001) compared to those with childhood-onset epilepsy (≤18 years). Employed patients had higher marriage rates than unemployed patients (64.9% vs 58.6%, p = 0.006), with only male patients being significantly affected by employment status (p ＜ 0.001). Multiple logistic regression revealed that age, age at first seizure onset, and employment status were related to both marriage and fertility. Conclusion: Epilepsy had negative effects on marriage and fertility status. Marriage and fertility rates were lower in patients with Childhood-onset epilepsy (≤18 years). Furthermore, employment status mainly affected the marriage rate of male patients.

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“…The substitution of the label "person with epilepsy" for "epileptic patients" or "epileptics" in a general attitude questionnaire could have a different impact in attitude. The nouns person, patient and epileptic do not have the same meaning, are not interchangeable and could have different power in attitude questionnaires [26].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does public attitude change by labeling a person as epileptic, person with epilepsy or the acronym PWE? A systematic review

Carrizosa-Moog

Salazar-Velásquez

Portillo-Benjumea

et al. 2019

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It is still unknown if attitudinal differences by diverse labeling of persons with epilepsy could be universally accepted with the actual literature evidence. The manner in which questions are constructed could also have an impact in final results. The purpose of this systematic review was to examine the published articles regarding changes in public´s attitude towards epilepsy by labeling a person as epileptic, person with epilepsy or with the acronym PWE.Methods: We undertook a systematic review of the literature using common databases with specific keywords and combinations searching for original articles, meta-analysis and systematic reviews. Sociodemographic variables, attitude results and questions style were analyzed in included articles.Results: Four original articles were found. Significant attitudinal changes were described in three studies with the label person with epilepsy. One study failed to demonstrate an attitudinal change by distinct labeling of a person with epilepsy. All questions were formulated in a personal way. Few neutral and mostly induced questions were found in the studies.Conclusion: By the use of the label "person with epilepsy" there is a trend towards positive changes in public's attitudes, although evidence is scarce to consider this tendency as universally applicable. More studies are needed considering widespread social and cultural backgrounds and patient opinion. Language power by wording type could be a key consideration for future studies.

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Evaluation of knowledge about epilepsy and attitudes towards patients with epilepsy among university students in Upper Egypt

Cited by 10 publications

References 26 publications

Traditional practices and perceptions of epilepsy among people in Roma communities in Bulgaria

Traditional practices and perceptions of epilepsy among people in Roma communities in Bulgaria

Epilepsy in China: Factors influencing marriage status and fertility

Does public attitude change by labeling a person as epileptic, person with epilepsy or the acronym PWE? A systematic review

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