Public awareness and attitudes toward epilepsy in Saudi Arabia is improving (original) (raw)
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Epilepsy & Behavior Reports, 2021
The association of epilepsy with spirits possession is common in Saudi community, stigmatizing people with epilepsy for generations. Bridging the gap in university students' knowledge and improving their attitude is key to alleviating this stigma. Methods: We created a self-administered questionnaire that examined university students' knowledge of and attitudes toward epilepsy. We obtained epilepsy knowledge scores and examined their associations with gender and college specialties. Results: Of the 511 students, 51.6% had intermediate knowledge, while 25.2% and 23.2% had high and low knowledge, respectively. Students from health colleges had higher scores than the others. They significantly differentiated epilepsy as a brain disorder (65.5%), identified convulsions as a sign of epilepsy (92.2%), and linked epilepsy to head trauma (25%), genetic causes (22.7%), and congenital malformations (9.4%). Few respondents linked epilepsy to evil spirits (15.7%) and mental disorders (19.9%), but 46% preferred spiritual treatment. The respondents' attitudes were negative toward marriage (78%), employment (76%), and interactions of children with those with epilepsy (45.9%). Women were more tolerant than men regarding social relationships. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that knowledge regarding epilepsy improved compared with earlier surveys in Saudi Arabia and Arab countries; however, the ''spiritual" and ''mental disorder" misconceptions warrant future interventions.
Epilepsy & Behavior, 2016
Introduction: Epilepsy accounts for 0.5% of the global burden of disease, with more than 50 million people affected worldwide; 80% of them are in developing regions. People with epilepsy and their families can suffer from stigma and discrimination in many parts of the world. Although this disorder is common in Saudi Arabia, with a prevalence of 6.54 per 1000, no study of epilepsy awareness, knowledge, and attitudes has been reported from the Aseer region. Methods: The study was conducted using a validated self-administered questionnaire to assess awareness, knowledge, and attitudes toward epilepsy and the sociodemographic data of the participants. Results: In the total sample of 1044 (mean age: 28 ± 9 years; 53.2% were males; from different educational and social levels), almost all had heard about epilepsy (96.1%), and the majority knew someone with epilepsy (60.7%). In spite of that, knowledge about the etiology and nature of epilepsy was lacking, as 40% of participants thought it was a blood disorder, 21.2% believed it was contagious, and nearly one-third viewed it as due to a mental disorder and emotional stress. Regarding public attitudes toward people with epilepsy, 19.1% would not work with them, 17% would not allow having their child mingle with a child with epilepsy at school, and more than half would not marry a person with epilepsy. Moreover, the study showed inappropriate responses when dealing with someone with a seizure; they would force some medicine down the patient's throat (49.3%), use herbal medicine (68.9%), ask a spiritual healer (31.8%), or even think it is untreatable (35.6%). Conclusion: The level of epilepsy awareness in the Aseer region's population is relatively poor and needs improvement.
Level of awareness and attitudes toward epilepsy in Qassim, Saudi Arabia: A cross-sectional study
Epilepsy & Behavior, 2019
Objectives: Reports of poor knowledge about epilepsy in different cities of Saudi Arabia have emphasized the need for a similar study of this issue in the Qassim region. Therefore, we aimed to determine the level of awareness and attitudes toward epilepsy in the population of Qassim, Saudi Arabia. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the Qassim region. A valid pretested questionnaire was distributed among Qassim residents in public places, such as malls, mosques, and parks. The sample size consisted of 3800 people from multiple cities in the Qassim region. The study was approved by the Qassim committee in Qassim University, and verbal consent was obtained from participants. Results: Data were obtained from 2253 males (59.3%) and 1544 females (40.6%). A large number of respondents were between 15 and 30 years (59.7%). The data showed that 85.5% of people had heard about epilepsy or read about it and 33% knew a patient with epilepsy while 42.7% had seen or witnessed someone having a seizure. It was also found that 73.2% of parents would allow their child to play with patients with epilepsy, 35.7% would allow their son or daughter to marry a patient with epilepsy, and 74.9% think that patients with epilepsy can be employed in jobs, like other people. Conclusion: Insufficient knowledge about epilepsy, which is a very common disorder, has a great and negative impact on people with epilepsy, their families and communities, and the healthcare systems. In our study, we found that good knowledge was associated with being a young adult, male, unmarried, and being a university student.
Public knowledge and attitudes toward epilepsy in Majmaah
Journal of Neurosciences in Rural Practice, 2016
Objectives: Epilepsy is very common in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, occurring in 6.54 out of every 1000 individuals. The current study was conducted to determine the level of public awareness of and attitudes toward epilepsy in the city of Majmaah, Saudi Arabia. Subjects and Methods: This descriptive study was conducted in Majmaah, Saudi Arabia. The study population included respondents derived from preselected public places in the city. Stratified random sampling was used, and the sample size was made up of 706 individuals. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection from respondents after receiving their verbal consent. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 2.0. Ethical approval was obtained from the Ethics Committee of Majmaah University. Results: The results showed that 575 (81.4%) of the respondents had heard or read about epilepsy. Almost 50% of the respondents knew someone who had epilepsy, and 393 (55.7%) had witnessed what they believed to be a seizure. Resu...
Epilepsy; What do Saudi's living in Riyadh know?
2013
The present study was conducted to investigate the level of public awareness, and the attitudes and knowledge regarding epilepsy in the Saudi population in Riyadh-capital city of Saudi Arabia. Methods: A survey consisting of 19 questions pertaining to epilepsy awareness was distributed to Saudi citizens living in Riyadh older than 15 years of age in malls, supermarkets, health clubs, mosques, universities and schools. Results: Of the 7078 respondents who completed the questionnaire, 6756 (95.5%) had heard about epilepsy, 3024 (42.7%) had witnessed what they believed to be a seizure and 5164 (73%) would allow their children to interact with an individual who had epilepsy. However, 5382 (76%) respondents would not want their children to marry an individual with epilepsy, 1004 (14.2%) believed that epilepsy was infectious and 574 (8.1%) believed that epilepsy was a type of mental illness. A total of 1509 (21.3%) respondents were not aware of a single potential cause of epilepsy, 3493 (50.6%) would not seek medical advice if one of their relatives had epilepsy, 2221 (31.4%) did not know how to deal with an individual experiencing an epileptic episode and 6554 (92.6%) did not know that surgery was a treatment option for individuals with epilepsy in Saudi Arabia. Of the 7078 respondents, 3237 (45.7%) would not abide by a physician's advice not to operate a motor vehicle because of their illness, of whom 1631 (50.4%) cited problems with the public transportation system as a reason for disregarding the doctor's advice. The effect of age and level of education were statistically significant on most of the study variables. Conclusion: The level of epilepsy awareness in the Saudi population needs improvement.
Public awareness and attitudes towards epilepsy in the United Arab Emirates
Seizure, 1998
The aim of this paper is to obtain an initial estimate of people awareness, attitudes and understanding towards epilepsy and to provide a basis for international comparisons. A cross-sectional study conducted during 1995 in Al-Ain City, Dubai and Sharjah Emirates, United Arab Emirates (UAE). We used a simple questionnaire following a two-stage sampling technique. A total of 1050 subjects aged 15 years and above were selected randomly. Of these a total of 892 individuals (86.4%) responded to the study. Seventy-five percent of respondents (665 people) had heard or read about epilepsy. Males and females were similarly familiar with the concept of epilepsy. The age group and education had a positive significant effect on awareness of epilepsy (p < 0.001). Thirty-four percent had occasionally seen a seizure. Nineteen suggested that there is no treatment. Those acquainted with a person with epilepsy were more likely to know that there is treatment. Among those familiar with epilepsy 18.5% believed in cautery and 40% believed in faith healing. A small percentage (7%) of respondents had objections to allowing their children associating with a person with epilepsy at school or in the playground; 68% objected to their children marrying an epileptic person; 10% believed that epileptic people should not be employed in jobs as other people are. In conclusion, unfortunately, knowledge, awareness and attitudes towards epilepsy in the UAE were less compared with surveys conducted in Western countries. The majority lacked information about the causes, nature and treatment of the disease.
Knowledge of, perceptions of, and attitudes toward epilepsy among university students in Kuwait
Epilepsy & Behavior, 2009
The aim of this study was to explore, using a self-administered questionnaire, university students’ knowledge of, perceptions of, and attitudes toward epilepsy. Approximately 1.7% considered epilepsy a contagious disease, and 10.5%, a form of insanity. About 25 and 34% of students thought that epilepsy is caused by an evil spirit and the evil eye, respectively, and 17.4% thought epilepsy is punishment from God. About 8% believed patients with epilepsy should not marry, and 12.5% thought they should not have children. Similarly, 11.7% thought patients with epilepsy cannot think or judge like people without epilepsy, and 26.2% would not employ someone with epilepsy in a clerical job. Approximately 56% objected to marrying someone with epilepsy, and 12.5% would not allow their child to play with a child with epilepsy. In conclusion, university students in Kuwait have a vague knowledge of the causes of epilepsy. Misconceptions about and negative attitudes toward epilepsy are unexpectedly high among these university students.
Awareness and attitudes toward epilepsy among medical students and interns in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Primary Health Care Research & Development
Background: Epilepsy is a common neurological condition. It affects around 1% of the global population. This study aims to evaluate the knowledge and attitudes toward epilepsy. Methods: This is a cross-sectional observational study. An online questionnaire was distributed to medical students in their clinical and preclinical years and interns at Riyadh’s four public universities. Then a comparison was made to see whether attending more courses in medical school would influence the students’ knowledge and attitudes. Results: In the present study, 95% of medical students had heard about epilepsy or convulsive seizures (a significantly larger proportion of clinical students had heard about epilepsy than preclinical students (99.0% versus 92%, P-value = 0.000)). Furthermore, 34.0% believed that epilepsy could be treated. Moreover, 79.1% of those polled claimed that brain disease originated from epilepsy, followed by genetic factors (64.1%) and convulsions (92.3%) as the most common symp...
Public knowledge and attitudes toward epilepsy in Kuwait
Epilepsia, 2008
and †Ministry of Health, Kuwait SUMMARY Purpose: The study was conducted to determine the familiarity with, knowledge of, misunderstandings, and attitudes toward epilepsy among the Kuwaiti population. Methods: A pretested questionnaire was used to collect data from a sample of 784 Kuwaiti individuals, selected from five governorates in Kuwait using a multistage stratified clustered sampling. Results: Seven hundred fifty-five subjects were interviewed, and 97.6% reported their awareness about epilepsy. Of these, 51.8% knew someone who had epilepsy, 56.4% had witnessed an epileptic seizure, 45.9% believed that epilepsy is a hereditary disease, 60.4% reported that "all epileptic fits manifest symptoms of generalized tonic-clonic seizure," 88.3% indicated that putting an object into the patient's mouth to prevent tongue biting during a seizure is appropriate, and 57.1% stated that drug therapy was the only treatment avail-able for epilepsy. Objections to shake hands with, working with, marrying, and employing epileptic patients were reported by 16.0%, 24.8%, 71.6%, and 45.2%, respectively. Childbirth by epileptic women and allowing children to play with an epileptic child were opposed by 56.3% and 27.7%, respectively. A total of 370 (50.2%) agreed that epilepsy is equivalent to psychiatric disorder. Discussion: The present findings have demonstrated that epilepsy is a well-known disease in Kuwait, and that negative attitudes toward epilepsy do prevail in Kuwait. The majority of the negative attitudes were significantly associated with the misunderstanding of epilepsy. Continuing effective educational interventions would be needed in order to improve the appropriate understanding of epilepsy, and to ameliorate the social discrimination and misconceptions against epileptic patients.
Epilepsy: What do health-care professionals in Riyadh know?
Epilepsy & Behavior, 2013
The objective of this study was to report on the knowledge of epilepsy, as well as attitudes and practices toward individuals with epilepsy, among health-care professionals in Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia. Methods: A survey consisting of 23 questions pertaining to epilepsy awareness was distributed to health education workers (n = 51), nutritionists (n = 56), physicians (n = 265), dentists (n = 58), pharmacists (n = 41), nurses (n = 224), physiotherapists (n = 65), and fifth-year medical students (n = 62) in three tertiary hospitals in Riyadh. Results: Of the 822 respondents who completed the questionnaire, 100% had heard about epilepsy, and 92.6% would allow their children to interact with an individual who has epilepsy. However, 67% of respondents would not want their children to marry an individual with epilepsy, 97.9% of respondents believed that individuals with epilepsy should have the same employment opportunities as the general population, 10.5% believe that supernatural power is the cause of epilepsy, 67.2% did not know how to deal with an individual experiencing an epileptic episode, and 56% did not know that surgery was a treatment option for individuals with epilepsy in Saudi Arabia. Of the 822 respondents, 39% would not abide by a physician's advice not to operate a motor vehicle because of their illness, 91% of whom cited problems with the public transportation system as a reason for disregarding the doctor's advice. When asked if the participants had access to any information on how to deal with epilepsy during their professional training, 60.3% had access to such information during their graduate studies. Ninety-eight percent of those with access to this information were physicians and health-care educators (p b 0.001). Physicians and health-care educators were significantly more aware of epilepsy than any of the other groups. Conclusion: The level of epilepsy awareness among health-care professionals in Riyadh needs improvement.