title: Knowledge, attitude and practices of students about first aid epilepsy seizures management in a Northern Indian City.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Knowledge about epilepsy and its management is not satisfactory among school students in developing countries. The present study was planned to ascertain the knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) of students regarding first-aid management of epilepsy seizures in school setting.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 177 students of government schools of Chandigarh, a city of northern India, were taken. They were administered with a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire (for knowledge and attitude assessment) and an observational checklist after role play (for practice assessment) on first-aid management of epilepsy. A scoring system was devised to quantify the knowledge and practices of students.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seventy-one percent of them had either heard or read about epilepsy. Half of the students believed epilepsy as a hindrance to education. Ayurvedic treatment was preferred by more than half of the students; however, many believed that visit to religious places and exorcism as ways to cure epilepsy. Nearly 74% of students would call a doctor as first-aid measure for seizure in a person with epilepsy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We concluded that the knowledge about various aspects of epilepsy was average among school students in Chandigarh. However, there was no significant difference in knowledge, attitude and practice between students who lived in urban, urban slum and rural areas. It is recommended that first-aid management of seizures in epilepsy should be a part of school curriculum.
authors: Department of Community Medicine, School of Public Health, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India.
authors: Sonu
authors: S
authors: Goel
authors: Navpreet
authors: N
authors: Singh
authors: Vivek
authors: V
authors: Lal
authors: Amarjeet
authors: A
authors: Singh
keywords: Beliefs; epilepsy; practices; role play; school health