Questionnaire survey on the understanding of epilepsy among non-medical persons.
BACKGROUND
A questionnaire survey was conducted on the understanding of epilepsy and febrile seizures in preschool teachers, public health nurses, and parents or caregivers of children with epilepsy.


METHODS
The survey was performed in three different sites at different dates. The participants were 16 preschool teachers, 25 public health nurses, and 34 parents or caregivers of children with epilepsy.


RESULTS
Seventy-seven percent of the participants thought that epilepsy was not always untreatable. Sixty-seven percent of the participants thought that epilepsy was not a hereditary disease. Sixty-one percent of the participants considered that repetitive seizures cause brain damage, and 93% of them thought that patients with epilepsy must be treated. Seventy-six percent of the participants thought that febrile seizures evolve into epilepsy if left untreated. Seventy-seven percent of the participants considered that vaccination can be performed in patients with epilepsy or febrile seizures, and 89% of them thought that swimming should not be forbidden in patients with epilepsy or febrile seizures. There was no significant difference in the answers with regard to the positions of the participants except in one question.


CONCLUSIONS
The present questionnaire survey provided some information on the understanding of epilepsy among non-medical persons. A nationwide public survey is needed to clarify the problems in the public understanding of epilepsy.
Department of Pediatrics, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan. okumura@med.juntendo.ac.jp
Akihisa
A
Okumura
Kazuyoshi
K
Watanabe
D000328:Adult; D017028:Caregivers; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D005178:Faculty; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010290:Parents; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000592:standards*; D015995:Prevalence; D011637:Public Health Nursing; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires