METHODS: After approval from the Ethical Review Committee, a population-based cross-sectional design was conducted in Chakwal District, Pakistan between February 1, 2018, and June 1, 2020, to evaluate the general knowledge and attitudes of the public toward epilepsy. A non-probability convenience sampling technique was utilized to recruit participants from different socioeconomic backgrounds across Chakwal District, and only individuals aged 18 years or older with at least 12 years of education were eligible to participate. A previously validated structured questionnaire was used to document findings. The study focused on several variables, such as knowledge about epilepsy and the percentage of people who have witnessed seizures, as well as sources of knowledge, subjective causes of epilepsy, beliefs in cure, transmission, and treatment options.
RESULTS: The survey included 512 participants, and the age distribution was as follows: 18-29 years old accounted for 18% of the respondents, 30-44 years old accounted for 35%, and 45-60 years old accounted for 31%. There was a female predominance with a frequency of 312 (60.9%). When asked about their sources of knowledge about epilepsy, the majority of participants (59.57%) reported learning about epilepsy from friends and relatives. A smaller percentage (18.36%) reported learning about epilepsy from schools, while another 20.31% heard about epilepsy from media and relatives.
CONCLUSIONS: The results of this research show that the general populace of Pakistan has a serious dearth of comprehension and information about epilepsy. Participants frequently held misconceptions about epilepsy being a hereditary disease and a mental condition, highlighting the need for focused education and information efforts to dispel these falsehoods. The fact that most participants got their knowledge about epilepsy from peers and family also emphasizes the value of peer education and social networks in spreading awareness of the disease.
方法:经伦理审查委员会批准,在Chakwal区进行了基于人口的横断面设计,巴基斯坦于2018年2月1日至2020年6月1日之间评估公众对癫痫的一般知识和态度。利用非概率便利抽样技术在Chakwal区招募来自不同社会经济背景的参与者,只有年龄在18岁或以上且受教育程度至少为12年的个人才有资格参加。使用先前验证的结构化问卷来记录结果。这项研究集中在几个变量上,例如关于癫痫的知识和目睹癫痫发作的人的百分比,以及知识的来源,癫痫的主观原因,对治愈的信念,传输,和治疗选择。
结果:调查包括512名参与者,年龄分布如下:18-29岁占受访者的18%,30-44岁占35%,45-60岁占31%。女性占主导地位,频率为312(60.9%)。当被问及他们关于癫痫的知识来源时,大多数参与者(59.57%)报告从朋友和亲戚那里了解到癫痫.较小的百分比(18.36%)报告从学校学习癫痫,另有20.31%的人从媒体和亲戚那里听说过癫痫。
结论:这项研究的结果表明,巴基斯坦普通民众对癫痫的理解和信息严重不足。参与者经常误解癫痫是一种遗传性疾病和精神疾病,强调需要有针对性的教育和信息努力来消除这些谎言。大多数参与者从同龄人和家人那里获得有关癫痫的知识的事实也强调了同伴教育和社交网络在传播疾病意识方面的价值。