Syed Wasim Akhtar, Zarin Mogal, Shaukat Ali, Munawar Ali, Abdul Latif Sonija, Husainuddin Afridi, Hasan Aziz.
Survey of knowledge, attitude and practice of epilepsy among 221 school teachers in Karachi.
Pak J Neurological Sci Jan ;7(4):1-5.

Purpose: To assess Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of epilepsy among schoolteachers as baseline information for an epilepsy awareness program. Methods: Ten School Awareness Workshops were held in Karachi under Comprehensive Epilepsy Control Program of Pakistan (under intimation of ILAE/IBE/WHO Global Campaign Against Epilepsy), using a 15-item questionnaire. Results: The 221 correctly filled questionnaires were analyzed. Most of the teachers were from government schools (73.8%), females (86.9%) and graduate or above (84.2%). The mean age was 35.2 (+9.6) years. The 50.7% “had met” or “acquainted with” a person with epilepsy. They (75.6%) did not consider epilepsy a commonly prevalent condition, yet believed (66.5%) no age is immune. For etiology 42.1% responded to “brain-electrical-abnormality” whereas 48.0% to “stress and tension.” Epilepsy was considered: a harmless disease (41.6%), hereditary (13.6%) and transmissible (2.7%). For semiology 77.8% considered “unconsciousness/convulsions.” For first-aid measure: “lay in bed” (45.2%), “put a spoon in the mouth” (15.8%) and “smell a shoe” (20.4%). About 33.1% did not know epilepsy is treatable. Majority thought (75.6%) children with epilepsy could study in normal schools and believed (48.0%) they could become a successful schoolteacher/sportsperson. For the impact of the society: “negative impact” (43.9%) and “no impact” (40.3%). They supported persons with epilepsy getting married (68.8%) and having children (62.4%). The mean KAP score was 8.0+2.4 (53.3% of the total score = 15); independent of age, gender and educational level. Conclusion: Despite many misunderstandings the attitude of the teachers towards epilepsy was generally positive. Majority supported students with epilepsy to be in normal schools.

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