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A Cross-Sectional Study on Knowledge and Attitude Towards Epilepsy Among High School Students in Asmara, Eritrea

Received: 16 July 2022    Accepted: 9 August 2022    Published: 17 August 2022
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Abstract

Epilepsy is a kind of neurological disorder which is usually handled in a wrong way with social stigma and discrimination. This stigma arises from having lack of awareness and misinformation about the disease. Students who suffer from epilepsy are usually discriminated in school by their peers and schoolmates. Student’s awareness and approach to epilepsy varies with the accuracy of their knowledge, which is often inadequate, limited, or even erroneous. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge and attitude of high school students toward epilepsy. Methodology: The study conducted a quantitative descriptive cross-sectional study in selected High Schools of Asmara. One high school was taken for pilot study and not included in the actual study. The study population was all high school students of Asmara Secondary Schools. Sample was selected using the probability random sampling method. Hence our sample size was included 383 high school students. We adopted a questionnaire and distributed it to the eligible students. Once we have finished data collection procedure, data entry was done using CS Pro version 7.0 and analyzed by SPSS version 23. Descriptive statistics included frequency, mean, percentage and standard deviation. In addition, inferential statistics was also used. Result: The study revealed that 14.9% of the students had good level, nearly three-fourth (73.9%) of the students had moderate level, and 11.2% had poor level of knowledge. Majority (65%) of the students had moderate level of attitude and the remaining 30.3% and 4.7% of the research participants had, good and low level of attitude respectively. Conclusion: In this study the overall knowledge and attitude level of the participants was found to be moderate. Recommendation: Broad and continuous health education programs should be provided in schools to enhance the knowledge and attitude of the students related to epilepsy. Further extensive and nationwide studies should be done.

Published in American Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience (Volume 10, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajpn.20221003.14
Page(s) 102-110
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

High School Students, Epilepsy, Knowledge and Attitude

References
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  • APA Style

    Teame Kiflom Gaim, Aster Andom Beraki, Semere Teklebrhan Tewelde, Bietiel Woldemichel Goniche, Elsa Afewerki Kesete, et al. (2022). A Cross-Sectional Study on Knowledge and Attitude Towards Epilepsy Among High School Students in Asmara, Eritrea. American Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, 10(3), 102-110. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajpn.20221003.14

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    ACS Style

    Teame Kiflom Gaim; Aster Andom Beraki; Semere Teklebrhan Tewelde; Bietiel Woldemichel Goniche; Elsa Afewerki Kesete, et al. A Cross-Sectional Study on Knowledge and Attitude Towards Epilepsy Among High School Students in Asmara, Eritrea. Am. J. Psychiatry Neurosci. 2022, 10(3), 102-110. doi: 10.11648/j.ajpn.20221003.14

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    AMA Style

    Teame Kiflom Gaim, Aster Andom Beraki, Semere Teklebrhan Tewelde, Bietiel Woldemichel Goniche, Elsa Afewerki Kesete, et al. A Cross-Sectional Study on Knowledge and Attitude Towards Epilepsy Among High School Students in Asmara, Eritrea. Am J Psychiatry Neurosci. 2022;10(3):102-110. doi: 10.11648/j.ajpn.20221003.14

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajpn.20221003.14,
      author = {Teame Kiflom Gaim and Aster Andom Beraki and Semere Teklebrhan Tewelde and Bietiel Woldemichel Goniche and Elsa Afewerki Kesete and Aklilu Gebrit Mebrahtu and Salem Sium Mesfin and Frewengel Melake Weldeslassie and Firuz Tesfazieghi Fesiha},
      title = {A Cross-Sectional Study on Knowledge and Attitude Towards Epilepsy Among High School Students in Asmara, Eritrea},
      journal = {American Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience},
      volume = {10},
      number = {3},
      pages = {102-110},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajpn.20221003.14},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajpn.20221003.14},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajpn.20221003.14},
      abstract = {Epilepsy is a kind of neurological disorder which is usually handled in a wrong way with social stigma and discrimination. This stigma arises from having lack of awareness and misinformation about the disease. Students who suffer from epilepsy are usually discriminated in school by their peers and schoolmates. Student’s awareness and approach to epilepsy varies with the accuracy of their knowledge, which is often inadequate, limited, or even erroneous. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge and attitude of high school students toward epilepsy. Methodology: The study conducted a quantitative descriptive cross-sectional study in selected High Schools of Asmara. One high school was taken for pilot study and not included in the actual study. The study population was all high school students of Asmara Secondary Schools. Sample was selected using the probability random sampling method. Hence our sample size was included 383 high school students. We adopted a questionnaire and distributed it to the eligible students. Once we have finished data collection procedure, data entry was done using CS Pro version 7.0 and analyzed by SPSS version 23. Descriptive statistics included frequency, mean, percentage and standard deviation. In addition, inferential statistics was also used. Result: The study revealed that 14.9% of the students had good level, nearly three-fourth (73.9%) of the students had moderate level, and 11.2% had poor level of knowledge. Majority (65%) of the students had moderate level of attitude and the remaining 30.3% and 4.7% of the research participants had, good and low level of attitude respectively. Conclusion: In this study the overall knowledge and attitude level of the participants was found to be moderate. Recommendation: Broad and continuous health education programs should be provided in schools to enhance the knowledge and attitude of the students related to epilepsy. Further extensive and nationwide studies should be done.},
     year = {2022}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - A Cross-Sectional Study on Knowledge and Attitude Towards Epilepsy Among High School Students in Asmara, Eritrea
    AU  - Teame Kiflom Gaim
    AU  - Aster Andom Beraki
    AU  - Semere Teklebrhan Tewelde
    AU  - Bietiel Woldemichel Goniche
    AU  - Elsa Afewerki Kesete
    AU  - Aklilu Gebrit Mebrahtu
    AU  - Salem Sium Mesfin
    AU  - Frewengel Melake Weldeslassie
    AU  - Firuz Tesfazieghi Fesiha
    Y1  - 2022/08/17
    PY  - 2022
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajpn.20221003.14
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajpn.20221003.14
    T2  - American Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience
    JF  - American Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience
    JO  - American Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience
    SP  - 102
    EP  - 110
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2330-426X
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajpn.20221003.14
    AB  - Epilepsy is a kind of neurological disorder which is usually handled in a wrong way with social stigma and discrimination. This stigma arises from having lack of awareness and misinformation about the disease. Students who suffer from epilepsy are usually discriminated in school by their peers and schoolmates. Student’s awareness and approach to epilepsy varies with the accuracy of their knowledge, which is often inadequate, limited, or even erroneous. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge and attitude of high school students toward epilepsy. Methodology: The study conducted a quantitative descriptive cross-sectional study in selected High Schools of Asmara. One high school was taken for pilot study and not included in the actual study. The study population was all high school students of Asmara Secondary Schools. Sample was selected using the probability random sampling method. Hence our sample size was included 383 high school students. We adopted a questionnaire and distributed it to the eligible students. Once we have finished data collection procedure, data entry was done using CS Pro version 7.0 and analyzed by SPSS version 23. Descriptive statistics included frequency, mean, percentage and standard deviation. In addition, inferential statistics was also used. Result: The study revealed that 14.9% of the students had good level, nearly three-fourth (73.9%) of the students had moderate level, and 11.2% had poor level of knowledge. Majority (65%) of the students had moderate level of attitude and the remaining 30.3% and 4.7% of the research participants had, good and low level of attitude respectively. Conclusion: In this study the overall knowledge and attitude level of the participants was found to be moderate. Recommendation: Broad and continuous health education programs should be provided in schools to enhance the knowledge and attitude of the students related to epilepsy. Further extensive and nationwide studies should be done.
    VL  - 10
    IS  - 3
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Ministry of Health of Eritrea, Asmara, Eritrea

  • Department of Nursing, Asmara College of Health Sciences, Asmara, Eritrea

  • Department of Nursing, Asmara College of Health Sciences, Asmara, Eritrea

  • Department of Nursing, Asmara College of Health Sciences, Asmara, Eritrea

  • Department of Nursing, Asmara College of Health Sciences, Asmara, Eritrea

  • Department of Nursing, Asmara College of Health Sciences, Asmara, Eritrea

  • Ministry of Health of Eritrea, Asmara, Eritrea

  • Ministry of Health of Eritrea, Asmara, Eritrea

  • Ministry of Health of Eritrea, Asmara, Eritrea

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