A cross-sectional study on knowledge and attitude of schoolteachers about epilepsy in Saudi Arabia

Introduction: Epilepsy is a chronic brain disease characterised by intermittent nervous system derangement due to sudden excessive cerebral neuron discharge that results in almost instantaneous sensation disruption and loss of consciousness. There is a clear lack of epilepsy information among the general population. This study was carried out with an aim to examine the knowledge, attitude and practice of schoolteachers towards epilepsy. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional survey was administered to 433 schoolteachers working in the Al-Qassim region of Saudi Arabia from October to December 2020. A 20-item pretested validated questionnaire was distributed as a Google survey link, and the data collected were analysed using SPSS version 22. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. The Chi-square test was used to evaluate the categorical variables. Results: Around two-thirds of the teachers (35.2%) gained their information about epilepsy from public resources such as newspapers, television and the internet, and around half of them (53.1%) gained their information about epilepsy from multiple resources, namely from doctors, public resources and parents of students with epilepsy. Almost all teachers (99.3%) acknowledge that epilepsy is not a contagious disease, and more than half of the participants (58.4%) believed that there are multiple causes of epilepsy, including genetics, head trauma, infection, brain tumour and insanity. Conclusion: The study showed that teachers' knowledge of epilepsy was promising, but still, there are gaps in knowledge and attitude towards first aid management. There is a need to address this issue with the training of schoolteachers with the cooperation of local health professionals.