Knowledge awareness and attitude about epilepsy among schoolteachers in India

Despite recent advances in the management of epilepsy the efforts to assess knowledge, attitude and practice towards epilepsy are limited, particularly in the developing countries. To delineate the magnitude and scope of this problem, present study was conducted to assess the knowledge attitude and practice about epilepsy amongst schoolteachers in Northeast Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state of India. The basis of involving schoolteachers was their special role in Indian society with their larger interaction among the segment of population most affected by epilepsy.

Simple self-administered questionnaires were sent to the schoolteachers of primary and secondary levels. The questionnaires contained 15 questions related to awareness and attitudes towards epilepsy with details of first aid management of seizures.

We found that 97% of schoolteachers were aware of epilepsy with majority including it as a brain disease. A substantial proportion (38.2%) was uncertain about relation of epilepsy and insanity and 31.7% felt epileptics to be of below average intelligence. Only about half of them (55.3%) preferred their children to play with an epileptic. An overwhelming no was obvious about marriage with an epileptic (86.8%). Only 27.8% of the respondents had given any first aid measure to a seizing patient with only 16.3% giving it properly.

Despite a great degree of awareness about epilepsy amongst schoolteachers in India negative and wrong attitudes still exist. Stress on proper first aid measure to a seizing child needs greater emphasis to remove fright and fear amongst the public. Besides adequate management, public education to address existing biases and fear are equally important to improve the quality of life of epileptics.