RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Familiarity, knowledge, and attitudes towards epilepsy among attendees of a family clinic in Amman, Jordan
JF Neurosciences Journal
JO Neurosciences (Riyadh)
FD Prince Sultan Military Medical City
SP 53
OP 56
VO 13
IS 1
A1 Amira T. Masri
A1 Farouq M. Shakhatreh
A1 Nada A. Yasein
A1 Farihan F. Barghouti
A1 Abdelkarim A. Al-Qudah
YR 2008
UL http://nsj.org.sa/content/13/1/53.abstract
AB OBJECTIVE: To investigate the present familiarity, knowledge, and attitudes of Jordanians towards epilepsy.METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study that was conducted over a 6-month period, from April 2006 to October 2006 at the family clinic of Jordan University Hospital, Amman, Jordan. A face-to-face questionnaire interview was conducted with 600 non-epileptic adults who visited the clinic during the study period.RESULTS: The sample matched the overall Jordanian population for literacy rate, however, included a higher proportion of females, and consequently findings may be taken as being only moderately representative of the Jordanian population. Ninety-eight percent of the respondents had heard about epilepsy, 47.3% knew someone with epilepsy, and 39.7% had witnessed a seizure. The major source of knowledge was word of mouth; knowledge about causes and treatment were far below the results reported in western countries. In addition, negative attitudes were present with regard to marriage and employment of epileptic patients (86.8% objected to marriage and 50.8% objected to employment). Eighty-three percent of respondents admitted that their knowledge of epilepsy was not satisfactory and were willing to learn more about epilepsy. The television was believed to be the most efficient and preferred way to disseminate knowledge about epilepsy.CONCLUSION: Although this study does not represent the whole Jordanian population, however, it demonstrated lack of knowledge and emphasized the extent of negative as well as positive attitudes towards epilepsy in Jordan.