A survey on awareness, knowledge, and attitudes toward epilepsy in an urban community in Turkey (original) (raw)

Background and Aim: Epilepsy is one of the most common chronic neurological disorders with a high prevalence. Epileptic people and their family members suffer more from social stigma than the disorder itself. Among various complex reasons knowledge and awareness about epilepsy are the two important factors underlying discriminatory attitudes towards epileptic people. Community pharmacists play a major role in the care of these patients. In this study we mainly aimed to gain insights into the knowledge and awareness of and attitudes (AKA) towards epilepsy both in epileptic and healthy individuals in an urban community. To this end we also aimed at developing a reliable and valid measurement tool to assess AKA levels. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted in 13 community pharmacies with 219 respondents. Factor analysis yielded three clear subscales. Results: It was found that a vast majority of the participants were familiar with epilepsy; yet only 18 of them had detailed in...