title: Effect of health education on trainee teachers' knowledge, attitudes, and first aid management of epilepsy: An interventional study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  High rates of poor knowledge of, and negative attitudes towards people with epilepsy (PWE) are generally found among school teachers. Their first aid epilepsy management skills are poor. It remains unknown if this is different among trainee teachers and whether educational intervention might reduce these rates. We examined the effect of health education on the knowledge, attitudes, and first aid management of epilepsy on trainee teachers in Nigeria.
  
  
  METHODS
  Baseline data and socio-demographic determinants were collected from 226 randomly selected trainee teachers, at the Federal College of Education, Lagos, Nigeria, with self-administered questionnaires. They received a health intervention comprising an hour and half epilepsy lecture followed by a discussion. Baseline knowledge of, and attitudes towards PWE and their first aid epilepsy management skills were compared to post-interventional follow-up data collected twelve weeks later with similar questionnaires.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At baseline the majority (61.9%) and largest proportion (44.2%) of respondents had negative attitudes and poor knowledge of epilepsy, respectively. The knowledge of, and attitudes towards epilepsy, and the first aid management skill increased in most respondents, post-intervention. The proportion of respondents with poor knowledge and negative attitudes dropped by 15.5% (p<0.0001) and 16.4% (p<0.0001) respectively. Correct knowledge concomitantly increased by 29.6% (p<0.0001) and good first aid management skills increased by 25.0% (p<0.0001) from baseline.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Epilepsy health education could increase trainee teachers' knowledge of, and attitudes towards epilepsy and facilitate correct first aid management. This emphasizes the potential benefit of incorporating an epilepsy tailored intervention programme into teachers' training curricula.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuro-Psychiatry, Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Christian N
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Eze
authors.affiliation: Reproductive and International Health Unit, Department of Community Health and Primary Care, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Olufunke M
authors.initials: OM
authors.lastname: Ebuehi
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurological, Biomedical and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, Italy; Department of Neurology, Franz Tappeiner Hospital, Merano, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Brigo
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Neurology, Brain Center Rudolf Magnus, University Medical Center Utrecht, The Netherlands; Biomedical MR Imaging and Spectroscopy Group, Image Sciences Institute, University Medical Center Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Willem M
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Otte
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuro-Psychiatry, Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, Nigeria. Electronic address: drigwe@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Stanley C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Igwe
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D019468:Disease Management; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000628:therapy*; D005178:Faculty; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Attitude; Epilepsy; First aid management; Health education; Knowledge; Trainee teachers