Shifting perspectives: From "Epilepsy" to "Cerebroelectric Disorder"
Seungyon Koh1, Sung-Inn Pyo2, Seol Jang2
1Department of Brain Science, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, South Korea; Department of Neurology, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, South Korea.
Epilepsy & Behavior : E&B
|June 22, 2024
Summary
Changing the term epilepsy to "cerebroelectric disorder" reduced public stigma. News discourse shifted to patient-centered stories, improving understanding and destigmatization.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Medical Sociology
- Linguistic Studies
Background:
- Epilepsy carries significant social stigma and misconceptions.
- The Korean Epilepsy Society initiated a renaming project in 2008.
- The goal was to replace 'epilepsy' with 'cerebroelectric disorder', a neutral, scientific term.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of changing epilepsy terminology on public discourse.
- To analyze shifts in language used in news media following the renaming initiative.
Main Methods:
- Text data analysis of online news articles across multiple time periods (2001-2022).
- Utilized Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic modeling, frequency, and sentiment analysis.
- Migraine discourse was used as a control to isolate the effect of the renaming project.
Main Results:
- A clear trend emerged showing 'cerebroelectric disorder' increasingly replacing 'epilepsy' in news.
- Public discourse shifted from healthcare/economic focus to patient-centered narratives.
- Language became more empathetic, indicating reduced stigma compared to the control term.
Conclusions:
- Adopting 'cerebroelectric disorder' positively influenced public discourse in South Korea.
- The change facilitated more patient-centered discussions and reduced disease stigma.
- Terminology plays a crucial role in shaping public perception and destigmatizing medical conditions.
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