Parent and caregiver knowledge, beliefs, and responses to convulsive seizures in children in Kingston, Jamaica - A hospital-based survey.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to determine the knowledge and beliefs about seizures and actions during seizures of parents/caregivers of Jamaican children hospitalized for convulsive seizures.

DESIGN AND METHODS

This was a cross-sectional study of parents and caregivers of children with acute convulsive seizures hospitalized at the Bustamante Hospital, Kingston, Jamaica between May 1 and October 31, 2013. Subjects were identified by admission records. Parents/caregivers were invited to participate. A questionnaire on the demographics, knowledge, beliefs, and response of parents/caregivers during the child's current seizure episode was administered face to face. Data were analyzed for frequencies: groups were compared using chi-square analysis for categorical variables, Student's t-test for normally distributed data, and the Mann-Whitney U-test for data not normally distributed.

RESULTS

There were fifty participants: 39 (78%) mothers, mean (SD) age - 33.8 (10.1) years. All sought medical care first. Twenty-two (44%) had plausible beliefs about the cause of seizures. Twenty-seven (54%) knew of appropriate actions during a seizure, 10 (20%) knew of appropriate precautions, and 11 (22%) responded appropriately during the seizure. Eleven (22%) reported receiving seizure education. Witnessing a previous seizure, education level, and seizure education were associated with knowledge of seizures (p<0.05). Socioeconomic status was higher in those with plausible beliefs about seizures and lower in those who took appropriate action during a seizure (p<0.05).

CONCLUSION

Parents/caregivers of children with convulsive seizures have appropriate health-care seeking behavior, but most do not have appropriate knowledge about seizures. Few take appropriate action during the episode. A public education program is needed to improve parental knowledge of and response to convulsive seizures.