Knowledge, Attitudes and Practice toward Epilepsy Students in Jordan

Introduction: The purpose of this study aimed to assess knowledge, attitudes, and practice toward epilepsy among Jordanian students. Methods: A cross-sectional design was used, with a self-administered questionnaire to assess students? knowledge, attitudes, and practices in eight schools in a single province in Jordan. Results: A total of 728 students participate in this study with a response rate of 72.8%. The students ages ranged from 12 to 18 years (mean = 15.19, SD= 1.8). Students demonstrated inadequate knowledge toward people with epilepsy, more than half (58.4%) thought it was associated with mental illness; 42% believed that epilepsy has nothing to do with intelligence, and 37.2% of the participants? sources of information about epilepsy derived from family. Nearly half of the students would play with a person with epilepsy, establish a relationship with him/her, and sit next to him/her in class, 9.5% would allow their children to marry a person with epilepsy in the future, which indicate negative attitudes. None of the school students had received first aid or seizure management training in or out of school, with only 27.7% knowing that the student with a seizure should be placed in a safe environment, while 48.1% preferred to call the parents, and 24.7% an ambulance. Conclusion: Students demonstrated poor knowledge and negative attitudes toward people with epilepsy. They had no form of education or training regarding epilepsy management or first aid, indicating a need to launch education sessions as part of the school curriculum and to introduce straightforward activities in the school health education programme.