Knowledge, attitude and practices of students about first aid epilepsy seizures management in a Northern Indian City

Abstract

Background:Knowledge about epilepsy and its management is not satisfactory among school students in developing countries. The present study was planned to ascertain the knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) of students regarding first-aid management of epilepsy seizures in school setting.Materials and Methods:A total of 177 students of government schools of Chandigarh, a city of northern India, were taken. They were administered with a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire (for knowledge and attitude assessment) and an observational checklist after role play (for practice assessment) on first-aid management of epilepsy. A scoring system was devised to quantify the knowledge and practices of students.Results:Seventy-one percent of them had either heard or read about epilepsy. Half of the students believed epilepsy as a hindrance to education. Ayurvedic treatment was preferred by more than half of the students; however, many believed that visit to religious places and exorcism as ways to cure epilepsy. Nearly 74% of students would call a doctor as first-aid measure for seizure in a person with epilepsy.Conclusion:We concluded that the knowledge about various aspects of epilepsy was average among school students in Chandigarh. However, there was no significant difference in knowledge, attitude and practice between students who lived in urban, urban slum and rural areas. It is recommended that first-aid management of seizures in epilepsy should be a part of school curriculum.

Study of Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice among Epilepsy Patients in North India

“…12 Approximately 81% of patients (n = 164) knew that epilepsy was not hereditary in the study group as compared with only 93 patients in the control group (46.5%) which was almost half of the study group. Our findings were consistent with that of Chandigarh, 13 Kerala by Radhakrishnan et al, 4 and in Italy. 14 The studies done in Nepal, Malaysia, and Canada found that there were more people (almost 50-60%) who believed epilepsy to be hereditary.…”

“…18 Even in Chandigarh, 63%, people thought that PWE should go to school regularly, and only 9% believed that their school should be changed. 13 We found that 81% of PWE would allow their children to play with an epilepsy patient. This number was lower in the control group.…”

“…This number was less than what was seen in Nepal (57.4%), Kerala (85%), and Chandigarh (95%). 4,13,15 However, only 75% of PWE in Delhi knew that epilepsy was not due to prior sins. 5 Our study showed that almost 90% of people in both study and control groups knew that epilepsy was treatable by modern drugs, but still only 40% PWE and even lesser numbers (13%) in the control group knew that ayurvedic medicines were not helpful in epilepsy.…”

Knowledge, Beliefs, and Practices on Epilepsy among High School Students of Central Nepal

“…A study done on first aid epilepsy management in North India found nearly 74% of the students would call a doctor as first aid measure for seizure in a person with epilepsy [19]. However, nearly a quarter of them would make such person hold a bunch of keys and sprinkle water over the face, which is not a practice that would be expected in case of seizures.…”

Ayurveda and botanical drugs for epilepsy: Current evidence and future prospects

“…Though ethnobotanical surveys and CAM use surveys in different populations worldwide indicate a trend for the effective use of Ayurveda as an adjuvant to mainstream health care, rigorous clinical studies are lacking [159][160][161][162][163]. A survey of the indigenous communities of the sub-Himalayan region of Uttarakhand indicated the use of a total of 24 plants belonging to 24 genera and 22 families in 26 formulations to treat epilepsy.…”