Enhancing epilepsy and seizure first aid awareness in polish youth: The impact of targeted educational programs

Epilepsy is frequently associated with psychological and social challenges for both children and adults including social isolation, fear of seizures, and difficulties forming close relationships. These issues often come from a lack of understanding of this disease in the general population. Educational programs may help improve public knowledge of epilepsy and potentially contribute to stigma reduction.

This study evaluated the impact of a targeted educational intervention on epilepsy awareness among high school students. A structured, three-phase protocol was implemented, comprising a demographic survey, a pre-lesson knowledge test, a dedicated epilepsy education session, and a post-lesson test. The questionnaire addressed topics such as epilepsy epidemiology, seizure types, appropriate first aid responses and challenges in daily life faced by individuals with epilepsy.

After excluding incomplete responses, data from 550 students were analyzed. The intervention resulted in a significant increase in knowledge, with mean results rising from 9.26/15 correct answers (61.7%) in the pre-lesson test to 12.97/15 (86.5%) in the post-lesson test (p < 0.001). While baseline knowledge did not differ by gender, female students exhibited greater post-lesson improvement (p < 0.05). Younger participants tended to score lower at baseline (p = 0.07), but all age groups showed similar results in the post-lesson test. Students in biology-focused academic tracks demonstrated higher baseline understanding (p = 0.02).

These findings highlight the effectiveness of targeted educational programs in enhancing epilepsy and seizure first aid short-term knowledge among adolescents.