Knowledge and attitudes towards epilepsy in Saudi families

OBJECTIVES: Epilepsy is one of the most common paediatric neurological disorders. Lack of awareness regarding epilepsy among the general population influences the lives of epileptic children. Misconceptions and misinformation about epilepsy in children should be identified and corrected. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge and attitudes towards epilepsy in families of epileptic children and families of normal children in Almadinah Almunawwarah, KSA. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted at Maternity and Children's Hospital from March 2015 to December 2015. A self-administered questionnaire was designed to collect data from the participant families. RESULTS: Of 168 participants, 150 completed the questionnaire. These included 64 families of epileptic children and 86 families of normal children. Of all the responding families, 67 families (44.7%) thought that epilepsy was related to Jinn. Logistic regression analysis showed that this belief was dependent on the family education level (p = 0.004) and to the area of residence, either urban or rural (p = 0.04). In families of epileptic children, the link of epilepsy to Jinn was related to clinical factors, such as the type of epilepsy (p = 0.023), disease duration (p = 0.039), and duration of treatment (p = 0.028). CONCLUSIONS: Our community still has misconceptions regarding epilepsy, even among families of epileptic children. Knowledge and attitudes toward epilepsy must be corrected. Planned programs and campaigns should be conducted in the form of mass society education.