Parental Knowledge, Awareness, and Attitude Regarding Children With Epilepsy: A Cross-Sectional Study in Arar, Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND

Epilepsy is a chronic neurological condition marked by recurrent seizures, which differ widely in type and frequency. Globally, many families lack accurate information about epilepsy and may be misinformed by unreliable sources, often resulting in negative attitudes toward their children who have epilepsy. The aim of this study is to assess parental knowledge and attitude regarding epilepsy and identify the predictors affecting the knowledge and attitude in Arar city, Saudi Arabia.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted in Arar, Saudi Arabia, among 66 parents. A self-administered online questionnaire was disseminated between January and April 2024, and responses were collected anonymously. Surveys were distributed at the Maternity and Children Hospital in Arar, Saudi Arabia.

RESULTS

The Cronbach's alpha for the knowledge domain was 0.55, indicating moderate reliability, and for the attitude domain it was 0.42, indicating poor reliability. Principal component analysis revealed that the knowledge domain loaded on two components explaining 59.44% of the variance in responses and the attitude domain loaded on three components explaining 61.16% of the variance in responses. Of the total respondents, 11 (16.7%) had good knowledge, 13 (19.7%) had fair knowledge, and 42 (63.6%) had poor knowledge. Of the total respondents, 38 (57.5%) had a good attitude, 17 (25.8%) had a fair attitude, and 11 (16.7%) had a poor attitude. The multiple linear regression analysis for the knowledge score revealed that a child's treatment duration of 6-10 years significantly increased the knowledge score by 1.75 (95%CI: 0.28 - 3.23, p=0.021). The attitude score revealed that a secondary or higher educational level significantly improved it by 1.95 (95%CI: 0.03 - 3.86, p=0.046), while an intermediate educational level non-significantly improved the attitude score by 1.40 (95%CI: -0.99 - 3.78, p=0.245). Employment status significantly decreased the attitude score by -0.79 (95%CI: -1.34 - -0.24, p=0.006). Additionally, a treatment duration of 6-10 years significantly improved the attitude score by 1.21 (95%CI: 0.12 - 2.29, p=0.030).

CONCLUSION

Our study highlights a notable disparity between poor knowledge and positive attitudes among the parents surveyed. This underscores the imperative for targeted health education initiatives and awareness campaigns aimed at equipping parents with a comprehensive understanding of their children's condition.