Abstract

KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDE TOWARDS EPILEPSY IN SUFFERERS AND NON-SUFFERERS OF THE DISEASE

Rudaina A. M. Nour, Idris B. Eltayeb, *Mahmoud M. E. Mudawi

ABSTRACT

Introduction: There's considerable gap in the knowledge of epilepsy among the sufferers of the disease and general population that lead to negative impacts on the lives of people with epilepsy. Both knowledge of all aspects of the disease and positive attitude towards epilepsy help providing better therapeutic outcomes, quality of life and prognosis. Objectives: The aims of this study were to assess the knowledge and attitude of epileptic patients interviewed in two neurologic referral clinics at two neurologic and psychiatric hospitals and to compare knowledge and attitude with a control group of non- sufferers. Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional community based
study, 100 respondents were included: 50 epileptic patients and 50 control persons. The two groups interviewed almost at the same settings in Taha Baashr and El- Tigani El- Mahi hospitals for neurology and psychiatry. Results: 50 epileptic patients assessed in the study, 84% of them didn't know there are different kinds of epilepsy, compared to 90% of the control group (50 respondents) didn't know this. Regarding the etiology of epilepsy and the precipitants of seizure the epileptic patients were found to know more than the control group: 52% of epileptic patients said they knew some causes of epilepsy compared to 20% of the control group and 42% of the epileptic patients knew that there are seizure precipitants compared to 16% of the control group. Both sufferers and non-sufferers of epilepsy were assessed with regard to attitude to the disease, People with epilepsy were more likely than the controls to regard it as minor illness, for example the controls regarded epilepsy as life-threatening disease (36%) and constraining (26%) compared with 12% for both choices of the epileptic patients. More patients with epilepsy said that the disease can be controlled (42%) than the controls (20%). The only exception is that 6% of the patients said there is no cure for epilepsy compared with 0% of the controls. The epileptic patients (not the control group) were concerned about the possibility of their condition being worsened (82%), 76% were concerned about occurrence of the fit when they are outside and about other reasons. The main concern about AED was the effect of missed dose (68%). Conclusion: The study revealed that there is a knowledge gap and misconceptions regarding many aspects of the disease. It also showed that people with epilepsy knew more about the disease than the public.

Keywords: Epilepsy, anti-epileptic drugs, seizure.