Knowledge and attitudes of teachers towards epilepsy in Zimbabwe

Objective - As a preliminary to designing a health education programme on epilepsy for teachers in Zimbabwe, we evaluated the knowledge and attitudes to epilepsy of teachers in Epworth, a poor, high density suburb of Harare, Zimbabwe. Materials and methods - All teachers in Epworth were invited to awareness workshops on epilepsy. A questionnaire on knowledge and attitude of epilepsy was distributed to all consenting participants. Results - 165 teachers (Male : Female 1 : 1.9) responded. Of the respondents 89% had heard or read about epilepsy, while 70.6% had observed an epileptic seizure. Epilepsy was considered hereditary by 34.6%, while 12.6% thought it was a form of insanity. Only 0.6% thought evil spirits were a cause, 22.6% thought that epilepsy was contagious, 82% would allow their child to play with an epileptic child, 76% would marry an epileptic while 55.7% would employ an epileptic. The majority would accommodate an epileptic and teach an epileptic child in class. Conclusions - These positive attitudes towards epilepsy by teachers may be attributed to their higher level of education and may imply that with increasing levels of formal education in the general African population, a more tolerant attitude towards epilepsy can be expected.