Knowledge Attitudes and Practice toward Epilepsy among Adults in BaVi, Vietnam: First Report from the Population‐Based EPIBAVI Study

Abstract

Summary:Purpose: We conducted a survey to assess knowledge, attitudes, and practice toward epilepsy in a populationbased study in a rural district of Vietnam.Methods: We utilized an established knowledge-attitudespractice questionnaire. This was applied by trained surveyors in face-to-face interviews of 2005 randomly selected adult residents (19-71 years of age) of the BaVi district, 60 km west of Hanoi.Results: Of the respondents, 67.0% had heard about epilepsy, 52.1% had known someone with seizures, and 49.3% had witnessed seizures. In total, 36.3% would object to their children playing with someone with seizures and 82.0% to their children marrying someone with epilepsy. Only 32.6% thought that epilepsy patients should be employed in a job as other people, while 10% thought that epilepsy was a form of insanity. Familiarity with epilepsy, having heard of epilepsy, known someone with epilepsy, or having seen seizures was associated with less negative attitudes. About half of the respondents (50.4%) thought epilepsy was caused by a brain disease and 80.1% would suggest consultation of a medical doctor for epilepsy.Conclusions: Knowledge of epilepsy among Vietnamese people is still limited compared to some Western countries and the attitudes more negative. Our findings indicated more negative attitudes than in another recent survey from Vietnam. This may be due to differences in sociodemographic characteristics and educational level of the study populations. The discrepancies demonstrate the importance of selection of study population and the need for caution in generalizing from results of surveys.

A five-year follow‐up study of the general public awareness and perception of epilepsy in Croatia

“…Since persons with more negative attitudes toward epilepsy (as a type of insanity) and possible life success of a child with epilepsy held significantly more negative views toward a child with epilepsy, while experiential factors (knowing a person with epilepsy, witnessing an event) did not reach a statistical significance, this outcome could be a consequence of common or similar origin of all three views. The USA studies revealed an improvement from 24% (1949) to 6% (1979) [10], Czech from 29% (1981) to 13% (1987) [22], German from 31% (1967) to 15% (1995) [39], Hungarian from 19% (1994) to 16.5% (2000) [23], while opposite trends were reported in Italy from 11% (1983) to 34% (1985) [39] and in Vietnam from 18.7% in 2003 [31] to 36.3% in 2005 [33].…”

“…Fear of seizures was favored by those 36-45 years old and injuries and rejection by others by those 26-35 years of age. Young participants (26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35) selected limited activities least frequently, and those 36-45 years old most frequently. Those with primary school level of education favored seizures, those with secondary school level injuries and those with a university degree the fear of seizures.…”

“…A similar proportion of the participants (4/5) could list at least one symptom of epilepsy in 2004 [14] and 2009, with equally diverse descriptors and overall results impractical for comparisons with other studies that vary considerably and by default have nominally "different" results [23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33]. Importantly, the published studies seem to support a widely held misconception that "the majority of persons with epilepsy shake," while it is established that convulsions represent the minority of epileptic seizures [34][35][36][37].…”

Multiple impacts of epilepsy and contributing factors: Findings from an ethnographic study in Vietnam

“…Earlier quantitative studies conducted in Vietnam indicate low levels of understanding about causes and treatment of epilepsy, and prevailing negative attitudes [24,25]. To appreciate more fully the contextually driven meaning of such responses, the present investigation employs an ethnographic approach to facilitate the exploration of local ontologies of epilepsy, lay beliefs and experiences of people with epilepsy and their family members in treatment of epilepsy, impact of epilepsy, attitudes toward epilepsy and attitudes toward disclosure of epilepsy.…”

Understanding autism spectrum disorder in Hanoi, Vietnam

“…In addition, a study on opinions of people towards epilepsy found that and 10% of respondents thought that epilepsy was a form of insanity, 36.3% of respondents would object to their children playing with someone with seizures and 82.0% would object to their children marrying someone with epilepsy (Tuan, Cuong et al 2007). The lack of awareness and stigma towards mental health also affects health seeking behaviour of people with mental health problems.…”