Assessing the knowledge of staff nurses about epilepsy in Taif City of Saudi Arabia: A descriptive study

Background: Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological diseases worldwide, affecting many people of all ages around the world. The risk of death in people with epilepsy is up to three times that of the population.Objective: The aim of the study was to assess the knowledge of staff nurses about epilepsy in Taif City of Saudi Arabia. Methods: The study used a descriptive quantitative design. Non-random, convenience sampling was used. It was conducted with 305 staff nurse participants who worked at two public hospitals in Taif City in both emergency departments and intensive care units. Only nurses who have English-speaking capabilities and work in these departments were included in this study, while students, nurses-in-charge, managers and nursing supervisors were excluded. A questionnaire consisting of 14 items was used.Results: The results showed that 71.5% of participants were female while 28.5% of them were male. Around 49% of the participants were Saudi nationals. More than half of the participants (58.7%) worked in intensive care units. The results found that the nurses' knowledge regarding epilepsy varied in the range of 52.8-88.9% in giving correct answers to the questions.Conclusion: This study obtained knowledge of epilepsy in hospitals in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) from nurses' perspectives. The results of this study showed significant differences in knowledge on epilepsy among nurses which indicates that there is a need for a more detailed study focusing on the exploration of the knowledge of epilepsy in other settings. By observing some wrong answers from the participant nurses, this study identified some knowledge gaps about epilepsy among staff nurses, which indicates that healthcare organizations need to pay attention to educating the staff nurses about epilepsy. Educating nurses about epilepsy should be the focus of education departments in hospitals. More educational courses for nurses about epilepsy are needed in the healthcare settings in Saudi Arabia.