Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices with Respect to Epilepsy among Nurses in the City of Niamey, Niger

Objective The aim of this study is to evaluate knowledge, attitudes, and practices about epilepsy among nurses in the city of Niamey, Niger, to identify existing gaps in their knowledge concerning epilepsy to formulate recommendations to improve the quality of care for people with epilepsy. Materials and Methods We conducted a descriptive cross-sectional survey on epilepsy knowledge among nurses in the city of Niamey, using a self-administered questionnaire including questions related to knowledge about epilepsy. Results A total of 98 nurses (29 men and 69 women) were included in the survey. The mean age of the participants was of 32.88 +/- 10.87 years (range: 17-58 years). The sample consisted of 10.2% of student nurses, 64.3% of college patent, and 25.5% of bachelor nurses. Only 22.4% of participants reported having heard about epilepsy during their training programs. Among the respondents, 43.9% of them had already attended at least one epileptic seizure. Epilepsy is considered as a psychiatric illness and contagious disease by 11.2 and 19.4% of respondents, respectively. The main transmission routes reported were physical contact with an epileptic person (14.3%) and contact with saliva (4.1%). Epilepsy was considered as an incurable disease by 5.1% of respondents. When someone has an epileptic seizure, 10.2% of respondents think that physical contact with this person should be avoided to prevent from contamination. Only 6.1% of respondents had appropriate attitudes when someone has an epileptic seizure such as lying the patient on his side, clearing the airway if necessary, and diazepam injection. Conclusion Considering that people with epilepsy are largely cared out by nurses in Niger, the results of the study justify the need to train nurses with respect to epilepsy to improve their knowledge about epilepsy and the care of people with epilepsy.