Knowledge and practice of schoolteachers towards students with epilepsy in Khamis Mushate, Southern Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Objectives:Epilepsy is a very common chronic neurological disorder in children throughout the world. This study was conducted to assess Saudi male schoolteachers’ knowledge of epilepsy and practice in Southern Saudi Arabia.Subjects and Methods:A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among male teachers; 315 teachers filled a well-designed and pretested self administered questionnaire.Results:Approximately three-quarters (72.7%) of the schoolteachers had witnessed epileptic fits. Forty-six percent believed that epilepsy was caused by electrical discharges. Most of the school teachers (79.7%) disagreed with the idea of teaching children with epilepsy separately, or preventing them from sporting activity (50.5%). In addition, 94.9% disagreed with the idea that epilepsy was shameful. Unfortunately, 64.1% of the teachers who were exposed to cases of seizures were not able to provide first aid to students having epileptic fits (P = 0.03).Conclusions:The schoolteachers were generally knowledgeable about epilepsy. This fact can be used to design a national program through which teachers can help to bring about a well-informed and tolerant community toward epileptics.

Knowledge and Attitudes Among School Teachers Towards School Students With Epilepsy in Hail Region, Ksa.

“…This attitude appears to be mainly based on the teachers" belief that epileptic students had normal mental and learning abilities. 20,36 We did not find significant association between the attitude of teachers and gender. For age, the highest percentage of teachers who were willing to provide first aid during epileptic fits was in those above 45 years old with statistical significance.…”

“…Also, it is rooted in the culture of many Arabic countries that possession by "Jinn" could result in convulsions and disturbed consciousness which are the manifestations of epileptic fit [29][30][31] A positive point was that almost all teachers in the present study (except for two) agreed that epilepsy is not contagious. In line with this finding, a study in Khamis Mushate, KSA found that most schoolteachers (82.2%) believed that epilepsy was not infectious 20 . Also, studies in Turkey, 23 Korea, 22 and India 24 found only a small percentage of participating teachers (0.6 -3.3%) who believed epilepsy to be infectious.…”

“…Only a limited number of studies have investigated this point in KSA in the regions of Jeddah 19,21 and Khamis Mushate. 20 Up to the best of the researchers" knowledge, the present study is the first of its type in Hail.…”

“…36 Moreover, a study in Khamis Mushate 20 found most of the teachers who witnessed fits of seizures were not able to provide first aid to students as they were not equipped to give care. 20 Misconceptions on first aid may be related to poor educational programs for epilepsy. Therefore, educational programs for epilepsy must be provided to teachers on routine basis and must include training on first aid measures, in order to improve the quality of life for people with epilepsy.…”

“…17,37 The majority of teachers in our study (97.7%) thought that epileptic students should not be prevented from studying, which is in agreement with many previous studies. 20,21,38,39 . This attitude appears to be mainly based on the teachers" belief that epileptic students had normal mental and learning abilities.…”