Evaluation of knowledge of and attitudes toward epilepsy among the health science students of Manipal University

This study was carried out to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices with respect to epilepsy among health science students of Manipal University. The study was conducted among first-year health science students of Kasturba Medical College on the Manipal and Mangalore campuses of Manipal University. All students willing to participate (n = 587) were asked to answer a standardized questionnaire on epilepsy. Our study group included educated urban people from various ethnic backgrounds of various countries who chose health science as a career, which makes the study different from others. Even though most of the students had heard about epilepsy, very few knew about the underlying cause. Most of the students were ignorant about the drugs and ways to deal with epileptic seizures. Questions related to community and religion were deliberately avoided as some subjects found such questions offensive, which may have resulted in a difference in response as compared with previously published studies. It was observed that a large number of students were not aware of the nuances of epilepsy. However, we expect the knowledge, attitudes and awareness to improve considerably with time and increased exposure. These findings support a need to promote epilepsy awareness programs as a means of increasing public knowledge of epilepsy. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.