Objective: The goal of the study described here was to determine mothers' knowledge and perceptions of electroencephalogram (EEG), to assess mothers' understanding of the main aspects of electroencephalography (EEG), and to determine the effect of an informational leaflet on increasing knowledge and perception.
Methods: A 20-item questionnaire was developed to assess mothers' knowledge and perceptions of EEG. The questionnaire comprised 20 simple statements on aspects of the procedure, to which the mothers answered "yes" or "no." Mothers were interviewed in person by an EEG technician at the beginning of the study. On completion of the questionnaire, the same technician provided the mothers with an informational leaflet. One month later, the mothers were telephoned and administered the same questionnaire over the phone.
Results: The response rate was 86%. Before reading the informational leaflet, 89.5% of the mothers stated that they knew why their child was undergoing electroencephalography, and 67.6% knew what electroencephalography was. Furthermore, 78.1% of them believed that their child's brain was mapped by electroencephalography. In addition, nearly 1 in 10 believed that EEG is a hazardous procedure and 6% believed it was addictive. Knowledge and perceptions changed after distribution of the informational leaflet. Comparison of mothers with different income levels, educational status, and numbers of electroencephalograms their child underwent revealed statistically significant differences with respect to knowledge and perceptions of electroencephalography.
Conclusion: Written information is a simple, inexpensive, easy-to-implement, yet effective method of improving parental understanding of EEG. The present study has significant implications for informing individuals regarding medical procedures.