Knowledge, attitude, and beliefs on epilepsy among adults in Erute South, Lira District, Uganda

OBJECTIVE: To assess the knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs of adults on epilepsy in Erute South County, Lira District, Uganda. METHODS: A cross‐sectional study was conducted in rural Erute South County. Two hundred seventeen of 220 randomly selected adults 18 years or older participated in the study. A standardized self‐administered questionnaire (Attitudes towards persons with Epilepsy “ATPE”) was used for data collection. Protocol approval was sought from International Health Sciences University, and informed consent was obtained from participants at all times. RESULTS: Two hundred seventeen of 220 invited community members completed the study. Females comprised the majority 51.6%.. Most of the respondents had a low level of knowledge on epilepsy. The mean ATPE scale knowledge score was 4.57 (standard deviation [SD] = 3.24) of a maximum score of 11. The male respondents almost had mean knowledge scores almost equal to their female counterparts (4.23, SD = 2.48; 4.51, SD = 2.54, respectively). Most respondents had negative attitudes toward epilepsy, with a mean ATPE attitude score of 73.2 (SD = 2.11) of a possible maximum score of 126. The mean attitude scores for the male and female respondents were 58.18 (SD = 4.23) and 86.62 (SD = 5.23), respectively. Most respondents had negative beliefs such as attributing epilepsy to supernatural spirits, heredity, and preference of traditional medicine and healers to conventional medicine as a treatment for epilepsy. A significant number of respondents expressed sympathetic feelings toward people living with epilepsy, specifically tolerance and kindness to those living with epilepsy. SIGNIFICANCE: Findings could benefit policymakers, the district health team, researchers, community members, affected families, and people with epilepsy in designing awareness strategies. Knowledge on epilepsy could improve the quality of life and care for people living with epilepsy, through reducing misconceptions and stigmatization in the communities where they live.