Department of Psychiatry, College of Health and Medical Science, Dilla University, Dilla, Ethiopia.
Department of Reproductive health, College of Health and Medical Science, Dilla University, Dilla, Ethiopia.
BMC Public Health. 2021 Feb 27;21(1):420. doi: 10.1186/s12889-021-10467-8.
Although epilepsy is one of the most prevalent neurological problems, it is highly surrounded by stigma and prejudice, which results in negative attitude towards the illness. Due to numerous misconceptions and beliefs attributed towards epilepsy, most people in rural communities have poor understanding and perception about epilepsy. Studying knowledge and attitude of this major neurologic problem among rural residents is crucial to add knowledge and show area of interventions. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the knowledge and attitude towards Epilepsy among rural residents in Ethiopia.
This was a community based cross-sectional study conducted in rural parts of Gedeo zone, Southern Ethiopia. A total of 732 randomly selected adult residents were interviewed using a pre-tested questionnaire. The collected data were entered to Epi-data version 3.1 and analyzed using SPSS version 20. Descriptive statistics and logistic regressions were performed. Multivariable binary logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine the presence of a statistically significant association between explanatory variables and outcome variables at corresponding 95% CI.
The magnitude of poor knowledge and unfavorable attitude towards epilepsy were 27.0 and 51.6%, respectively. Participants who can't read and write, having stigma related to epilepsy, participants who did not live with epileptic patients; unfavorable attitude and age were factors associated with poor knowledge towards epilepsy. On the other hand, Stigma related to epilepsy, poor knowledge, age and perceiving epilepsy as a God punishment for sinful activities were variables significantly associated with unfavorable attitude of epilepsy.
There is a gap regarding the knowledge and attitude towards epilepsy among community residents in southern Ethiopia. This demonstrates a need for community educational program regarding epilepsy which can increase community awareness particularly in rural areas to decrease stigma and negative beliefs towards epilepsy.
尽管癫痫是最常见的神经问题之一，但它被高度污名化和偏见化，导致人们对这种疾病持负面态度。由于人们对癫痫存在许多误解和误解，大多数农村社区的人对癫痫的理解和认识都很差。研究农村居民对这种主要神经问题的知识和态度对于增加知识和展示干预领域至关重要。因此，本研究旨在评估埃塞俄比亚农村居民对癫痫的知识和态度。
这是在埃塞俄比亚南部 Gedeo 区农村地区进行的一项基于社区的横断面研究。总共随机选择了 732 名成年居民进行访谈，使用预先测试的问卷。收集的数据输入到 Epi-data 版本 3.1 中，并使用 SPSS 版本 20 进行分析。采用描述性统计和逻辑回归进行分析。进行多变量二元逻辑回归分析，以确定解释变量与相应 95%置信区间内结果变量之间是否存在统计学显著关联。
癫痫知识水平差和对癫痫的不利态度分别为 27.0%和 51.6%。那些不能读写、对癫痫有污名化、没有与癫痫患者生活在一起的参与者；对癫痫的不利态度和年龄是与癫痫知识差相关的因素。另一方面，与癫痫相关的污名、知识水平差、年龄和将癫痫视为对罪恶活动的神罚是与对癫痫的不利态度显著相关的变量。
埃塞俄比亚南部社区居民对癫痫的知识和态度存在差距。这表明需要开展针对癫痫的社区教育计划，特别是在农村地区，可以提高社区的认识，以减少对癫痫的污名化和负面观念。
