Perception of epilepsy among the urban secondary school children of Bareilly district

Abstract

Background:There is a lack of knowledge about epilepsy among the students and the population in general, with consequent prejudice and discrimination toward epileptic patients.Objectives:Knowledge, behavior, attitude and myth toward epilepsy among urban school children in Bareilly district was studied.Materials and Methods:A cross-sectional survey was conducted among students of 10 randomly selected secondary schools of the urban areas in Bareilly district. A structured, pretested questionnaire was used to collect data regarding sociodemographic characteristics and assess the subject's knowledge, behavior, attitude and myth toward epilepsy.Results:Of the 798 students (533 boys and 265 girls) studied, around 98.6% had heard of epilepsy. About 63.7% correctly thought that epilepsy is a brain disorder while 81.8% believed it to be a psychiatric disorder. Other prevalent misconceptions were that epilepsy is an inherited disorder (71.55%) and that the disease is transmitted by eating a nonvegetarian diet (49%). Most of them thought that epilepsy can be cured (69.3) and that an epileptic patient needs lifelong treatment (77.2). On witnessing a seizure, about 51.5% of the students would take the person to the hospital. Majority (72.31%) of the students thought that children with epilepsy should study in a special school.Conclusions:Although majority of the students had reasonable knowledge of epilepsy, myths and superstitions about the condition still prevail in a significant proportion of the urban school children. It may be worthwhile including awareness programs about epilepsy in school education to dispel misconceptions about epilepsy.

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

“…Furthermore, such beliefs in traditional and alternative treatments are one of the key factors for the large treatment gap reported in developing countries, as patients seek indigenous treatments despite the availability of modern therapies [16]. About 69% of students in our study thought that patients with epilepsy required a long-term treatment as compared to 77.2% by Joshi et al [17] and 35% by Pandian et al in Kerala [5]. Seventy-nine percent of our students believed that medication needs to be taken regularly to prevent harm, which was higher when compared to Kerala (60.9%).…”

Epilepsy in India II: Impact, burden, and need for a multisectoral public health response

“…A poor knowledge and attitude towards epilepsy was observed among general public, school children, and teachers even though majority of them had heard or read about epilepsy [ Table 3 ]. [ 12 15 63 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 ] Even among the primary healthcare doctors, overutilization of EEG, improper prescription of AEDs, and inadequate skills in the management of AED-resistant epilepsies have been reported. [ 78 ] A significant number of general public in Kerala believed in other traditional medical practices for treating epilepsy.…”

Exploring knowledge, attitude, and practices in relation to epilepsy among undergraduates for effective health promotion: Initial evaluation

“…Studies conducted with student population clearly shows that students lack KAPs. [ 10 11 12 ] A study conducted in Nepal among high school students also show that there is a need of proper educational intervention for reducing the stigma related to the disorder. [ 16 ]…”

“…[ 7 8 ] Along with this, what promotes such form of misconception and thought that epilepsy cannot be cured is the lack of knowledge of how to handle a patient during an epileptic seizure among common people. [ 9 10 11 ]…”