First aid knowledge and practice toward students with epileptic seizure among governmental high school teachers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Epilepsy is one of the most common serious chronic brain disorders and is poorly understood by the general population, having been associated with numerous misconceptions and beliefs. This, coupled with its dramatic clinical manifestations, has resulted in a strong social stigma, and physical trauma due to the unknown delivery of first aid care.

Methods: An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted from February 19 to March 31, 2021. Structured self-administered questionnaires were used to collect data, which were comprised of knowledge and practice questions. Knowledge and practice among participants could be measured using the Chi-square (χ²) test of independence at p-values <0.05.

Result: A total of 378 participants with a mean age of 34.2 ± 7.8 SD have participated, with a response rate of 92%. Of the total respondents, about 144 (41.1%) and 143 (40.9%) had good knowledge and practice, respectively. Generally, teachers who were trained in first aid had fewer scores (25.6%) than those who were not (43.1%). Teachers who had heard about epilepsy (44.2%) had a higher opportunity to have good knowledge than those who had not heard about epilepsy.

Conclusion: This study showed that there was a gap in the knowledge and practice of teachers regarding epileptic seizures.

Keywords: Epileptic seizure; Ethiopia; Knowledge; Practice.