Abstract

CHAVEZ-NOMBERTO, Ruth; SAMALVIDES, Frine  and  GUILLEN-PINTO, Daniel. Knowledge and beliefs about epilepsy in parents who attend a tertiary care hospital in Lima,Peru. Rev Neuropsiquiatr [online]. 2015, vol.78, n.3, pp.123-129. ISSN 0034-8597.

Objectives: To describe the knowledge and beliefs about epilepsy in parents, and explore the associated factors. Materials and Methods: A validated instrument was applied to 103 parents of children diagnosed with epilepsy and 103 parents of children without epilepsy who attended the outpatient clinic of a national tertiary care hospital. Results: In the group of parents with children without epilepsy, 46.6 % (48/103) had a low level of knowledge and 31.1% (32/103) an intermediate level of knowledge. Amongst parents of children with epilepsy, 21.4 % (22/103) had a low level of knowledge and 43.7% (45/103) an intermediate level of knowledge (p=0.001). The level of knowledge about epilepsy was associated with the level of education (p<0.001), place of birth (p=0.017) and length of residence in Lima(p=0.002). There was no difference in the frequency of beliefs between the two groups. The most common belief was thinking that a person may develop aggression during a crisis, which was associated with a lower level of education. Conclusions: Parents of children with epilepsy know more about this disease. Beliefs were infrequent, and the most common belief is that a person can be aggressive during a crisis. Factors associated with greater knowledge were educational attainment, place of birth and residence time in Lima.

Keywords : Epilepsy; knowledge; parents; education.

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