Social of Epilepsy in Kuwait

Abstract

A retrospective analysis of the in-patients' case notes of 55 chronic epileptics admitted for psychiatric treatment to Kuwait Psychological Medicine Hospital revealed that the commonest seizure type was generalized grand mal epilepsy. Adverse effects on marriage, education and occupation were common. It is concluded that epileptics are more prone to have social difficulties, and that their marital status and fertility are far from satisfactory. The findings of the present study are similar to those reported in the literature.

Quality of Life of People with Epilepsy in Iran, the Gulf, and Near East

“…One interesting finding from the data was that markedly fewer respondents in this study reported feeling stigmatized at all and feeling highly stigmatized by their epilepsy, when compared with those in our earlier study in Europe (30). This is despite a number of previous studies reporting that in the countries in question, prevailing attitudes toward epilepsy are less than entirely positive, and epilepsy is seen to have a negative effect on marriage, education, and occupation (39,40,51). For example, a survey of public views toward epilepsy conducted in 1995 in Dubai, Sharjah Emirates, and the United Arab Emirates showed that significant proportions of respondents (68%) thought that "their children should not marry a person with epilepsy," and smaller numbers (10%) reported that "people with epilepsy should not be employed in jobs as other people are" (51).…”

“…Social support has been shown to have a protective effect on QOL for people with epilepsy, as for those with other chronic conditions (38). To date, few studies appear to have been undertaken in the Middle Eastern countries, although in a recent study conducted in Jordan (39), rates of anxiety and depression were higher in adolescents with epilepsy than in nonepilepsy controls; and el‐Hilu (40) noted that adverse effects for marriage, education, and occupation were common among people with chronic epilepsy in Kuwait.…”

Employability in people with epilepsy: A systematic review

“…2A). The lowest aER (14%) was reported in 1990 in Kuwait where subjects were recruited from a psychiatric hospital (El-Hilu, 1990). Inversely, the highest aER of 89% was reported among PWE recruited from an outpatient clinic in India, in which the predominant occupations were as agriculturists in rural areas and government jobs in urban settings (Pal et al, 2008).…”

“…Work restrictions such as driving and dealing with heavy machinery limit career advancement and may serve as a barrier for an employee with epilepsy (Chaplin et al, 1998a). Significantly less professional and self-employed jobs (El-Hilu, 1990), more non-manual positions (Majkowska-Zwolinska et al, 2012), over-representation of manual unskilled or semiskilled positions (Callaghan et al, 1992), and farmers (Keene et al, 1998) had been reported as occupations common found among PWE compared to general population. It was believed that a person with epilepsy should not work outside from home (Jacoby et al, 2008).…”

Psychosocial Aspects of Epilepsy in Oman: Attitude of Health Personnel

“…Historical and cross‐cultural studies on people with epilepsy (PWE) have reported active discrimination, high rates of psychosocial problems and poor compliance with treatment (1–4). More recently Kokkonen et al (5) reported that the social course of epilepsy is largely associated with neurologic and cognitive impairments other than epilepsy and that the social experience of epilepsy causes considerable problems for patients and their relatives in many parts of the world (6–11). It has been suggested that social attitudes are more devastating than the disorder itself, and other family members suffer because an immediate family member has epilepsy (12,13).…”