Public attitudes toward epilepsy in Italy: results of a survey and comparison with U.S.A. and West German data.
In May 1983, the Italian Institute of Public Opinion DOXA ran, for the Italian League Against Epilepsy, a survey to evaluate public attitudes toward epilepsy in Italy. Eight questions were addressed to a sample of 1,043 adults. Twenty-seven percent did not know what epilepsy was. The least knowledge was observed among elderly people, in the southern regions and the islands, in villages more than in cities, and, in particular, among the poorest social classes. Sixty-one percent had known someone who had epilepsy, and 52% had seen someone having a seizure. When those familiar with epilepsy were asked if they would object to having their children in school or at play associate with persons with seizures, only 11% replied they would object. Seventy percent thought that persons with epilepsy should be employed in jobs like other people, and only 8% thought epilepsy to be a form of insanity. When those familiar with epilepsy were asked if epilepsy is a curable illness, one-third answered negatively, one-third answered affirmatively, and one-third had no personal opinion. The Italian data seem to fall within the standard of the American (1979) and West German (1978) surveys.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D004827:Epilepsy; D005260:Female; D005860:Germany, West; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011639:Public Opinion; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States