Knowledge, attitude and practice regarding epilepsy among final year undergraduate students in Eastern University, Sri Lanka

Abstract

Epilepsy is a prevalent chronic neurological disorder affecting approximately 50 million people globally. It is still surrounded by misconceptions and stigma, especially in resource- limited settings. These negative perceptions impact the quality of life, education, and social inclusion of people with epilepsy. Hence, it is important to gain a broad understanding of knowledge, attitude and practices regarding epilepsy. The objective is to assess the knowledge attitude and practice regarding epilepsy among final year undergraduate students in Eastern University, Sri Lanka. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 348 final year undergraduate students from all faculties of Eastern University, Sri Lanka. A validated self administered questionnaire was used to collect data on socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge, attitude and practice regarding epilepsy and it was distributed in Sinhala, Tamil and English languages. Stratified random sampling method was used. Statistical package of social sciences (version 26) was used for analyzing the data based on objectives. A total of 348 final-year undergraduate students from Eastern University Sri Lanka participated in this study. The majority of participants were female (65.5%) and belonged to the 24-25-year age group (81.4%). Most of them were Tamil (60.1%) and followed Hinduism (51.4%), while the vast majority were single (91.4%). The largest group of respondents came from the Faculty of Arts and Culture (34.8%), followed by the Faculty of Commerce and Management (17.2%) and the Swami Vipulananda Institute of Aesthetic Studies (17.0%).In terms of knowledge, 75.0% (n=261) of students had a medium level, while 20.7% (n = 72) had a high level and only 4.3% (n = 15) had low knowledge. Regarding attitude, 59.8% (n=208) of students showed a medium level, while 32.8% (n=114) had a high level, and 7.5%(n=26) had low attitude. Regarding practice,73.3% (n=255) exhibited a medium level, while 19.5% (n=68) had a high level, and 7.2% (n=25) showed a low level of practice. The findings revealed a significant relationship between students’ faculty and their knowledge (chi-square=125.746,p-value=0.000,df=12),attitude(chi square=95.057,p-value=0.000,df=12),practice(chi-square= 204. 296,p-value=0.000,df=12) levels. Students from the faculty of health care science showed the highest levels of knowledge, positive attitudes and appropriate practices (100.0%),while the students from non health related faculties demonstrated lower and moderate levels in all three aspects, highlighting the influence of academic background on epilepsy awareness. These results emphasize the need for targeted interventions and health education programs to improve epilepsy awareness, reduce stigma, and promote safe practices.